by Shauna Allen
Before I reached my desk, Detective Rawlins stopped me. “Hey, Jewel. Got a minute?”
“Sure.” I slid my purse under my desk and smiled up at the weary man with perfectly coiffed, Grease-era hair. “What can I do for you?”
“We’ve got another rape victim. She was roughed up pretty bad. Worse than the other girls.”
My stomach dropped. “Oh, God. Is she okay?”
“Well, she’s in the hospital for observation, but it sounds like she’ll be fine. Physically, anyway.” His face took on a faraway expression. I knew these cases hit him particularly hard since his own granddaughter was a gorgeous blond cheerleader at the high school, and he’d been putting in long hours trying to catch this guy.
“What can I do?”
He focused back on me. “We already questioned her. Same M.O. She’s agreed to meet with you for a sketch. See if we can come up with anything we’ve missed so far.”
I swallowed against my suddenly dry throat. “Absolutely.”
We talked details for a minute and he gave me her name and room number. I nodded and yanked up my purse, then paused. Shit. I didn’t have my truck.
Det. Rawlins was already halfway down the hall so I thought fast. I picked up the phone and dialed.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Tori. It’s Jewel.”
“Oh. Hey!” She sounded surprised to be hearing from me.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to ask a favor.”
“Sure.”
I explained the situation. “You’re not working during the summer, right? Would you mind giving me a ride to the hospital? I’ll buy your lunch.”
She laughed. “I’m not working. Just putting the nursery together, but it’s almost done. I can be there in about an hour. That okay?”
“Perfect. Thank you so much!”
I met Tori in the parking lot, and if it was possible, she was even bigger. I rubbed her belly like Buddha. “How much longer?”
“About six weeks.”
I slid into her old Honda and we putted away. She peered over at me. “How are you holding up?”
I immediately thought of my argument with Micah, but I knew she meant about Nolan. “I’m okay. I just wish he’d go away.”
She mumbled her agreement and we turned into the hospital lot. I took a deep breath and faced her. “I’m not sure how long this will take. Maybe an hour or so? If you need to go for a bit and meet me back here, that’s fine. Then we can do lunch.”
“No problem. Take your time. I’ll just go grab a couple things for the baby I need then meet you in the lobby at . . .” She checked her watch. “About eleven?”
“Perfect.”
Out of habit, I glanced around the lot after she drove away, then hurried inside. I found the elevator and went up to the fourth floor. Lori McMahon’s room was tucked in a back corner close to the nurse’s station with a police officer settled in a chair right outside her door.
“Good morning.” I smiled and showed him my ID. “Det. Rawlins asked me to come by. I’m the sketch artist.”
Eyes nearly as dark as Micah’s scoured my ID then my face. He nodded and let me pass without a word.
I knocked softly. “Lori?” I poked my head in. The pretty blonde was sitting up in bed, staring out the window. “Lori? I’m Jewel Jackson, the police sketch artist. They said it was okay to come sit with you this morning?”
I stifled my automatic gasp when she faced me head-on. The entire left side of her face was one big purple, swollen mess. Her lip was split with dried blood crusting the edge. She held the same desolate, desperate, hollow eyes of all the others. I slowly approached. “If you’re not up for this, I can come back—”
“No.” Her vehemence startled me. “Stay. Anything I can do to help catch this sick fuck, I’ll do it.”
I internally cheered at her bravado. She seemed to have kept her spark, even with what she’d faced, and I applauded her. I smiled and sat, pulling out my pad and pencil.
We got started, and I was better prepared this time as Nolan’s face again became clear. If it wasn’t him, there was one hell of a resemblance. It didn’t take us long as I had his face memorized in my subconscious and simply put it on the page.
“That’s him,” Lori said, her voice strong and sure in contrast to her battered face. “Is he the same guy that’s been on the news?”
I studied her not-swollen eye. “I’m not sure, but I think so. Time and DNA will tell.”
She nodded and I stood to go, thanking her for her time. Sympathetic platitudes just didn’t seem fitting.
As I got to the door, she spoke. “What did you say your name was again?”
I peered over my shoulder. “Jewel Jackson.”
“Huh.”
I turned the knob.
“That guy? He was real angry when he hit me, like out of his mind, but I knew it wasn’t about me. He kept talking about his jewel. I thought it was just crazy ramblings.”
Shards of ice ripped through my gut. Dizziness crowded my head until I thought I’d be sick or pass out. I took a deep breath and tried to calm the raging ocean of my heart. I said nothing, just shoved out the door on shaky legs and ran for the closest restroom, where I did throw up. Kneeling over the toilet in the small stall, the tears finally came.
Why?
Why was this happening to me? What did I ever do to deserve this? What did any of these women do to deserve this? Was their pain and brutalization all my fault? Were they all just handy substitutes to take his rage out on until he could get to me?
What should I even do? I had no proof, just my own suspicions, which were beginning to feel very real.
It was early, so I straightened up and marched with false bravado down to the cafeteria. I debated texting Micah and telling him my suspicions, but in the end, I did what I felt was more sensible.
“Detective Rawlins here.” The deep voice of the officer rang through the phone.
“Hey, it’s Jewel.”
“Did you have an issue with our victim?”
“No. She’s very brave.”
“Anything new with the sketch?”
I swallowed and folded a napkin tightly in my free hand. “Yes and no.”
“What does that mean?”
I took my time, speaking slowly and methodically and with as little emotion as possible, as I laid out my past and suspicions. It was a weight off of my chest as he listened silently, showing no signs of doubt.
“Why didn’t you speak up before?” he asked. “You should’ve alerted me about the incident at your house. I could’ve done something.”
“I wasn’t sure it was him until that day, and even then I had a hard time wrapping my brain around it all. Plus, I was scared. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Thanks for letting me know. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m good. Just catch him for me and I’ll be perfect.”
Micah
While Jewel dressed that morning, I’d acted on impulse and hit ‘send’ on my drafted emails to the Martinez and Franks families. Stupid impulse was dogging my every waking thought now. Who did I think I was, asking for their forgiveness?
But it was too late to take it back now.
I watched Jewel skip into the police station and was dogged by another feeling. Regret. I’d bitten her head off over some stupid dog tags. She was so quick to forgive that it made me feel even worse. Why couldn’t she rage and yell and cuss me like I deserved? That was just it, wasn’t it? I didn’t deserve her, but I couldn’t give her up either.
“Hey, bro,” Blake greeted me when I got to work with a sleepy smile and coffee in hand.
“Hey.”
He nodded toward the blue Corolla. “Thanks for doing this. I’ve got Trace on the Thomas overhaul and Jesse and I need to drive out to give a bid.”
“Yeah. No big deal. What does it need?”
Blake shrugged. “I’m not sure. The guy was kinda weird when he dropped it off, like he didn’t have t
ime to talk. Just said there was some kind of knocking or tick in the engine and he needed it checked right away because he was going out of town.”
“Who was he?”
“Nobody from around here.” He picked up the order clipboard. “Just says C. Watkins. He didn’t fill in his phone number either. Hope he comes back for his car since we can’t get ahold of him.” He frowned. “How did I miss that?”
“Well, I’ll just give it a quick look. I won’t do any work until you’re able to figure out his deal.”
“Cool. Thanks.” He spun away for his office and left me to it.
I popped the hood then sat inside and cranked the engine. It sounded perfect. I hit the gas. Purred like a kitten.
I spent the next thirty minutes or so trying to find one thing wrong with that car. It was too perfect. Like a rental.
On a whim, I opened the glove box. Sure enough, an owner’s manual and rental receipt popped out. A blood-curdling sensation began to crawl though my veins like sludge. I scoured the paper for a name.
“Son of a bitch!”
I jumped out and ran for the office, yanking out my cell phone on the way. Blake snapped his head up as he pocketed his keys to leave. “What the hell, man?”
I’d already dialed Jewel and it was ringing in my ear as I tossed the receipt on his desk. “Jewel’s ex? It’s his car. The fucker was right under our nose. Did this to taunt me.”
“Hello?”
I spun away when Jewel answered. “Where are you?”
“The hospital.”
Fear raced through me. “Why? What happened?” Horrible, bloody images automatically filled my brain. By the time I peered up and registered another thought, I was in my Jeep, the engine revved.
“Nothing. I had to interview another victim.”
“How’d you get there?”
“Tori drove me. I didn’t want to bother you at work.” She paused. “Why? What’s wrong, Micah?”
“Don’t move. I’m coming to you.” I hung up before she could respond then dialed the cops.
After a few long moments, I was connected to Jewel’s supervisor, a Detective Rawlins. I explained the situation quickly, not caring if I was brisk. My military training was kicking in and my sixth sense was ringing loudly in my ears. We hung up when he promised to go straight to the shop to check it out and I turned into the hospital parking lot.
I ran in the direction of the front doors, but Jewel met me outside. “What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”
I led her back inside to the safety of the lobby, my eyes scouring the area. “Nolan.”
“What about him?” Her face paled and she gripped my forearm.
“The rush job Blake needed me for this morning? It’s his car. He fucking brought his car to my shop . . . that means he knows who I am. About us.”
She sunk into a chair and dropped her face into her palms. “Oh, God. No wonder.”
“No wonder what?” I sat next to her and grabbed her hand.
She gazed at me with lost eyes. “He’s escalating. He’s becoming more violent. This poor girl upstairs . . . he nearly killed her.”
“Wait. What?” I sat back as I registered what she was saying. “You think Nolan is the guy?”
She nodded, tears rushing down her face.
Holy. Shit.
It all made sense now. Why she was so scared. The creepy roses and showing up at her apartment. I knew what he’d done to her, but it never occurred to me he may be the rapist scumbag. This was worse than I thought.
I didn’t say anything about her keeping this from me, though it was painful. I could see the torment on her face. She was petrified. How could I be mad? I collected her into my arms and kissed her tears away. “It’ll be fine, baby. I’m here. He can’t hurt you as long as I’m here.”
She sniffed and pulled away to wipe her face. I glanced up when she aimed a watery smile in front of us. Tori waddled through the front doors, her smile morphing into a concerned frown. Her eyes darted between the two of us as she approached.
“What happened?”
I explained about the car, but let Jewel explain about Nolan and her suspicions.
“Fuck.” Tori sank into a chair on the other side of Jewel. “Have you told the cops? What are they doing?”
“Yes,” we answered in unison. Jewel waved me on and I told Tori the full story as I knew it.
I eyed Tori’s blond hair next to Jewel’s. “I’ll take you guys to lunch then drop you off wherever you need to be.”
“What about my car?” Tori shot me a wide-eyed stare like I was insane.
“Trace can bring you back for it later. My friend would kick my ass if I let you go out alone after this. Not now that we know this sick asshole knows who I am. He probably knows who we all are. He could hurt you. Hurt the baby. Not going to happen on my watch.”
Tori suddenly looked sick. “God. You’re right.”
I led them both out to the Jeep while Tori called Trace and explained. I could hear his loud exclamations from across the seat. She mollified him by explaining I had them both and was taking her home. After a moment, she rolled her eyes and moved the phone away from her mouth to talk to me. “He wants you to take me back to the shop with you. He’ll meet us there.”
I nodded. I understood his protective instincts totally.
Jewel didn’t say a word as we drove, just stared out the window in a daze.
“Do you need to go back to work?” I asked.
She seemed to snap out of it. “Uh . . . I’m not sure.” She pulled out her phone and called work. I couldn’t tell what was happening by her end of the conversation since it was mostly listening to whatever the other person was saying, but her face paled and I noticed the slight tremble of her hands.
She finally disconnected the call. “Detective Rawlins said he’s at the shop now. He asked me to go there so he could ask me some questions then he’s giving me the rest of the day off.”
“Good idea.”
I picked us all up some lunch at Subway then drove both girls to the shop. I settled them into Blake’s office with lunch and instructions to call whoever they thought needed to know what was going on. I closed the door and found the guys all huddled around the Corolla.
A CSU team was already busy working, dusting for prints and checking it over with a fine-toothed comb. Det. Rawlins was easy to identify. Tall and lanky, his ultra-gelled hair gave him a kinda throwback grandpa vibe.
He shook my hand and introduced himself anyway. “Thanks for calling. This son-of-a-bitch has been running me in circles.”
Yeah, my mind was running in circles, too.
We chatted for a while and I caught Trace throwing concerned glances toward the closed office door. I could only imagine how his protectiveness had ramped up with a pregnant wife. God, if that guy touched any of our women . . .
I snapped back to the group as they suddenly became quiet. The CSU team was working in the trunk and appeared to have come up with something. Det. Rawlins excused himself and stepped over, snapping on some latex gloves one of the techs gave him. He bent and studied the papers. As his eyes scanned, his face grew more and more serious. Angry.
After examining everything, he spoke to the tech quietly, took off his gloves and came back our way. “This is worse than I thought.”
“What is it?” Jesse asked, his shoulders tense.
The detective’s eyes flitted my way. “I really can’t give specifics, but I will say that Jewel was right about him and he’s obviously gunning for her. I need to go discuss it with her directly.” He excused himself and knocked on the office door. A moment later, Tori came out, her face ashen. She immediately ran to Trace’s arms. This was fucking bad.
I wanted nothing more than to rush the car and rip those papers out of the tech’s hands, but the officers milling about would probably have a problem with that, and if I landed in jail, I’d be no help to Jewel. My friends and I exchanged glances, no need for words.
I let the de
tective have exactly forty-five seconds, then I knocked on the office door and let myself in without waiting for a response. I avoided looking at the detective and instead found Jewel’s teary gaze.
“He has photos of all the other girls and he’s been taking pictures of me. Of us, Micah.”
“Shit.” I made my way around the desk and knelt down next to her. “He can’t hurt you with pictures, baby.”
“But he knows everything. Where we live. Where we work. Our schedules.” She wiped her face and faced the detective again. “You said he wrote on the photos?”
Det. Rawlins’ face gave nothing away. “Well, sort of. He cut your face out of some. He drew disgusting things on others or wrote vile threats. I believe he meant for you two to find this. It’s a warning. Until we catch him, we’re going to need to keep you safe.”
“She’s staying with me,” I said, using every ounce of my strength to fight my urge to rage against this whole fucked up situation. “I’m taking care of her.”
The detective’s eyes darted back and forth between us. “I’m sure you are, but he knows where you live, too.”
“So what do you suggest? She’s not leaving my sight. Not while that asshole is loose.”
Jewel offered me a grateful half-smile and reached for my hand.
“Do you have family or friends you can stay with?” the officer asked.
I knew any one of our friends would gladly offer us a place to stay, but it wasn’t right to put them at risk. Especially since growing families were in each home. I shook my head. “We’ll stay in a hotel or something. I’ll take care of it and get Jewel where she needs to be in the meantime.”
Det. Rawlins nodded. “Sounds good.” He offered Jewel a fatherly smile. “You know how to reach me if you need anything. Day or night.”
She smiled her thanks as he made his way out. I stood and drew her up into my arms. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just get me out of here.”
I did just that.
Jewel
I found myself on lockdown, but in the best possible way, considering the circumstances. Micah stayed glued to my side everywhere but the bathroom, and even then, I think he was right outside the door. He’d become a protective madman. Over me.