“I’m sorry, Sarah, but you’re wrong,” he said, rising to gather the remaining dishes together. He changed his tone to a more lighthearted one. “Now, these dishes sure aren’t gonna wash themselves, so I’ll make a start in the kitchen.”
Sarah seemed to sense his desire to change the subject, and she didn’t push the conversation any further. She knew Jack well enough to know when to back off.
“We’ll do it together,” she said with a smile. “We can talk about old times.”
“You got it,” he said, walking through to the kitchen. Old times was safe territory. There would be no danger of him mulling over Sarah’s suggestion of asking Rebecca to be his wife. He and Rebecca had a good friendship, and friends were all they were destined to be. Rebecca herself had made it clear that she did not intend to marry again, and Jack already felt a sense of betrayal to Ian for getting this close to Rebecca. If he were to let his feelings for her run free, he would surely be dishonoring the memory of his best friend further. Sarah couldn’t possibly understand the bond of brotherhood between soldiers. There were some lines you didn’t cross, and stealing your buddy’s wife was one of them.
“No,” he muttered under his breath as he ran the hot water from the faucet. Sarah was well-meaning, but in this instance she was dead wrong.
*
“You’ve gone really quiet, Jack,” Rebecca said as they headed out onto Highway 20. “Did I say something to upset you?”
“No,” he said, glancing over at her. “I’m just trying to keep a sharp mind. We need to be watchful as we enter Bristol. We don’t know what’s waiting for us.”
“Did you tell Darius we were on our way home? He could check out the house for us before we arrive.”
“He’s already on the case,” Jack replied. “I spoke to him earlier, and he’s keeping watch on the house from his car in the street. Ideally, we won’t get any nasty surprises.”
Rebecca heard the flat edge to his voice, and she reached over to lightly brush his jacket. “Are you sure you’re okay, Jack? You sound sad.”
“I am,” he admitted. “But there’s nothing you can do to help, so I’d rather not talk about it.”
Rebecca removed her hand and focused her eyes on the road ahead. She guessed that her decision to put some distance between them had not been a welcome one, and he was feeling the same sense of sorrow she was at the thought of breaking up the semblance of family life they had built up. He was right. There really was no point in talking about it any further. It would just be like picking at a wound.
They remained silent throughout the journey home, both lost in their own worlds. Rebecca’s mind snapped back into focus when they turned onto Charles Road and saw Darius’s car parked a little way from her house, with his unmistakable haircut silhouetted against the moonlight streaming into the car. He looked to be perfectly still and unmoving, and she saw Jack tense up in the driver’s seat, gripping the wheel tightly. He brought the minivan to a halt at the end of the street, some distance away from the house, and reached for her cell phone, which she had left on the dash. He switched it on and punched in Darius’s number. She could hear the tinny ringtone from the speaker and, with each ring, Jack looked more and more anxious. Despite the fact that Darius’s cell would be ringing in his car, he was clearly making no effort to answer it. Eventually the cell went to voice mail and Jack hung up, handing the phone back to Rebecca.
“Keep your cell turned on,” he said, his eyes trained on the unmoving figure in the chief’s car. “You shouldn’t switch it off.”
She sighed. “I just wanted a little peace and quiet with the girls,” she said. “I knew it wouldn’t last long. What do we do now?”
“I need to go check the situation out,” he said. “Rebecca, you slide over into the driver’s seat once I’m gone and get out of here immediately if anything bad happens.”
He shifted into reverse and turned the minivan around in case she needed to drive back the way they’d come. A feeling of dread slithered into her body as she watched Jack take his gun from its holster around his waist and check the bullet chamber.
“Shall I call 9-1-1?” she asked. “The detectives said we should call if we needed help.”
“Let’s hold off for a while,” he replied. “Darius could be taking a nap, or he could have left his cell someplace else. Let me check it out first.” He opened the door and planted one foot on the pavement. Turning back to her, he held up his forefinger. “If you see me do this, you should leave and call 9-1-1.” He lowered his voice and emphasized each word. “Do not come back for me.”
Rebecca couldn’t stop a feeling of panic bubbling up inside. “I can’t just leave you, Jack,” she protested. “Not if you’re in danger.”
“Yes, you can,” he said strongly. “I don’t want you putting your life at risk unnecessarily. The girls need you to stay healthy and strong.”
“But this could be a trap, Jack,” she said. “Let’s drive by Darius’s car and take a look inside first.”
“No,” he said, keeping his voice low and controlled. “That might be what they want us to do. You should stay far enough away to have a good chance of escape.” He exhaled loudly. “I’m not real family. The girls don’t need me like they need you, so let me take all the risks, okay?”
“Okay,” she croaked. “Stay safe, Jack.”
“Trust me, Bec,” he said. “I’m not about to go and get myself killed.”
That’s probably what Ian believed, she thought silently to herself. Jack seemed to be able to read her mind.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Bad choice of words. But don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
He then slid out of the car onto the sidewalk and closed the door behind him. She scooted over into the driver’s seat and watched him in the side mirror, moving quickly along the sidewalk, staying low beneath overhanging trees in her neighbors’ front yards. It was almost ten, and thankfully the street was quiet. She noticed Mrs. Harper’s drapes twitching in the darkness, sending a chink of light shining out on her lawn.
“No, Mrs. Harper,” Rebecca said under her breath, willing her neighbor to back away from the window. “Stay inside.”
Jack approached Darius’s car with caution, turning around continually to be ready for a possible attack from each angle. He kept his gun raised, and she knew that he would only use it as a last resort. She then did the only thing she was capable of doing to help: pray. She put her hands together and asked God to shroud Jack in a protective shield and to bring him back safe. As she finished her Amen, she saw him open the door of the car. In the next moment, Darius fell heavily out onto the sidewalk with arms and legs bound. She gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth.
Jack stood tall, turned toward her minivan and raised his index finger, giving her the signal to leave immediately. She started up the car and cruised to the end of the street, keeping her eyes on Jack in the rearview mirror. He was freeing Darius from the tape that bound his limbs together while simultaneously trying to move him toward Rebecca’s house. She pulled her cell from her pocket and dialed 9-1-1, asking them to hurry to the scene of an assault. Then she stopped the car, put it in reverse and turned back toward her house. Try as she might, she just couldn’t bring herself to leave Jack’s side. It wasn’t as easy as she had thought.
*
“Rebecca,” Jack said on seeing her pull up to the curb in her minivan and lower the window. “I thought I told you to leave.” He heaved Darius against a tree trunk and let him rest against it, sitting on the grass. The chief was conscious but dazed and bleeding from his leg.
“I couldn’t leave,” Rebecca called from inside the minivan. “I tried, but I can’t.”
Jack stood on the sidewalk, looking between Darius and Rebecca, wondering if he was capable of protecting them both if the attacker were to reveal himself. He took a moment to catch his breath and think, while also scanning the entire area for any unusual activity. He saw nothing. He turned to the house and looked it ove
r for signs of forced entry. The intruder alarm was silent.
“Let’s get inside,” Jack said, beckoning Rebecca out of the car. “If you won’t leave, I can at least get you off the street.” He squatted down to where Darius was sitting. “Can you walk, Chief?”
Darius nodded and put his arm around Jack’s neck to give him enough leverage to heave him up from the ground. “It was Simon Orwell,” Darius said. “I caught him trying to break into the house, and I challenged him. Then another guy ran out of the bushes and jumped me.” He snapped his fingers like he was trying to remember a name. “It was that guy from the Liberty News, the journalist who followed us.”
“Peter,” Rebecca said, her face a mixture of disbelief and shock. “Peter and Simon did this to you?”
“Simon said he wanted the negatives that were dropped when you were attacked,” Darius said, gritting his teeth against the pain. “But I told him I don’t have them. I said that Jack keeps them with him at all times. He got real angry and stabbed me. He called it a friendly warning and said next time he’d go for the heart. Then they tied me up and left me here.”
“No!” Rebecca exclaimed. “That doesn’t sound like Simon.”
“I’m guessing that it was Peter who attacked you in the darkroom yesterday,” Darius said, hobbling to the front door with assistance from Jack. “Acting under orders from Simon. They know that some negatives are missing, and they’ve given you twenty-four hours to hand them over. It might be a good idea if we put them in a more secure location than Jack’s pocket.”
Rebecca stopped in her tracks. “This doesn’t make sense. Simon isn’t the art thief.” She looked skyward and then at Jack, seemingly uncertain of anything anymore. “Is he?”
“Let’s get inside quickly,” Jack said, leaning the chief against the door and returning to Rebecca’s side to guide her toward the door. “The police will be here soon, and they can add Simon Orwell and Peter Allen to their arrest warrant.” He opened the door with the numerous security keys, and the intruder alarm began to beep immediately. Rebecca punched in the code while Jack led Darius into the living room and lowered him into a chair.
“Now let’s take a look at that wound,” Jack said, taking a penknife from his pocket and using it to slice the fabric of the chief’s pants to expose the injury. “You’re fortunate,” he said. “This is just a superficial wound. We can clean it and dress it ourselves.”
He followed Rebecca into the kitchen, where she reached up to a shelf and pulled out a first-aid kit. Her tailored blouse rode up on her back, and he saw a row of bruises that had started to turn dark on her pale skin. He went over to her and pulled the fabric up a little higher to see exactly how far the bruising extended.
“You never told me you’d gotten hurt today,” he said.
She turned around and pulled her blouse down to cover her skin. “It’s nothing,” she said. “We have more important things to worry about right now.”
“There’s nothing more important than you,” he said, staring her straight in the eye. “So don’t hide anything from me, okay?”
“I…” she started to say, but she couldn’t seem to find the words.
“What?” he asked gently. “Is there something else you’re hiding from me?”
She bit her lip. “Not in the way you’re thinking,” she said. “It’s just something that occurred to me when we were at Sarah’s.”
He locked eyes with her, and his breathing became heavier. Was she talking about the exact same thing that had occurred to Sarah?
He put one hand on each side of her waist. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but it felt natural. He knew he should be dressing Darius’s wound, but it wasn’t urgent and, at that moment, this felt more urgent than anything in the world. His head seemed to move all by itself toward hers, and the tips of their noses touched.
“What occurred to you?” he whispered as he felt her warm breath come in short puffs on his lips.
She didn’t have the opportunity to answer as the doorbell echoed through the house, bringing them both back down to earth instantly. She sprang back from Jack like a cat walking on a hot stove and ran her hands through her hair, looking as though she was trying to compose herself.
“That’ll be the police,” she said. “I’ll go let them in.”
Jack rushed to walk ahead of her and stopped her in her tracks. “No,” he said, “we don’t know who it is, so let me open the door.”
She looked down at the first-aid box in her hands. “I’ll go see to Darius’s leg,” she said quietly. She seemed to be avoiding his eyes.
Jack walked to the front door and used the peephole to see who was waiting on the other side before he slid the security chains free. It wasn’t the police. It’s was Rebecca’s neighbor, Mrs. Harper. When he opened the door, she stood on the step, with freshly curled hair and newly applied lipstick, beaming like the Cheshire cat.
“This isn’t a good time, Mrs. Harper—” he started to say.
She stopped him by holding up her manicured hand. “Your visitors have returned,” she said.
His heart skipped a beat. “Visitors? You mean the men who were here yesterday?”
“Yes,” she said with a smile. “They arrived earlier this evening. I called your cell phone a few times and left messages, but you never returned my calls. I tried Rebecca’s cell and it was turned off.”
Jack ran a hand down his face, remembering that he had given Mrs. Harper his business card. “I forgot that my cell was destroyed in the car explosion.” He quickly corrected his words. “I mean accident. What time did the men leave, Mrs. Harper?”
“Oh, they’re still here,” she replied.
A feeling of coolness rushed over his skin. “They’re still here?” he repeated. “Where are they?”
“I invited them in for coffee,” she said proudly. “They’re sitting in my living room right now.”
ELEVEN
“Come inside, Mrs. Harper,” Jack said, taking her hand and pulling her into the house. “You need to stay here with Rebecca while I go see who these men are.”
Mrs. Harper offered no resistance to Jack’s firm grip, seeming to sense the seriousness in his voice.
“They said they were friends of yours, Mr. Jackson,” she said with wide eyes. “They’re perfectly charming gentlemen.”
“Do they know you’re here?” he asked, hearing the faint sound of police sirens in the distance.
She shook her head. “I thought I’d let you surprise them, so I snuck out the back door when I went to make more coffee and saw Rebecca’s car parked in the driveway. I figured it’d be a nice reunion for you.” She put her hand on her cheek. “I’m so sorry if I did something wrong.”
He put his hand on her arm. “You did just fine, Mrs. Harper.” The sound of sirens was becoming increasingly louder, and he didn’t want the mystery men to be spooked and run. He needed to confront them without delay.
“Wait with Rebecca in the living room while I go speak with them,” he said. “I’ll explain later.”
He opened the front door a crack and saw a patrol car turn the corner at the end of the street. He knew he had to act fast. Darting through the door, he briefly turned and instructed Mrs. Harper to bolt it behind him. He heard the lock clunk into place.
Next, he raced up the street to stop the patrol car. He recognized the two deputies inside as the same ones who had responded to Rebecca’s breakin and the attack in the darkroom: Deputies Drew and Layton. They stopped their patrol car, shut off the siren and stepped from the vehicle together.
“Where’s the assault victim?” Deputy Drew asked. “Is it Mrs. Grey?”
“No,” Jack replied quickly, “the victim is a man named Darius Finch, and he’s okay. He’s not hurt badly.” He pointed at Mrs. Harper’s house. “There are two men inside that house, and I think they may be involved with the attack in some way. I need your help to go inside and find out who they are and what they know.”
He started down t
he street only to feel a hand on his shoulder pulling him back. It was Deputy Layton. “Mr. Jackson, I’m going to have to ask you to step aside and let us deal with this situation. You are a member of the public, and we can’t allow you to take part in police duties.”
Jack ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I’m a former navy SEAL. I know what I’m doing, trust me.” He looked between the two men in uniforms. “These men could be dangerous.”
Deputy Drew moved to stand with his colleague blocking Jack’s path to Mrs. Harper’s house. “I understand that you are a highly trained individual, but you are still a member of the public,” he said. “And we’re here to protect the public, not put them in harm’s way.”
“We’re wasting time,” Jack said, trying not to raise his voice. “If they see you here on the sidewalk, they’re likely to make an escape.”
Deputy Layton crossed his arms. “We’ll go inside and assess the occupants,” he said slowly. “But only if you agree to go back to Mrs. Grey’s home and wait for us there.”
Jack exhaled loudly and decided to relent. His military training had taught him when it was in everyone’s interests to back off. And this was one of those times. “Okay, okay,” he said. “I’ll wait with Rebecca.”
He walked back to Rebecca’s house and knocked on the door. It was opened with a yank, and Rebecca flung herself into his arms. “Mrs. Harper told me about the men in her house. I’m so glad you’re okay. You left without telling me.” She spied the deputies standing behind him on the sidewalk. “Are the police going in?”
The deputies made a pushing gesture with their hands to instruct Jack to go inside. He ushered Rebecca into the house and kicked the door closed with his foot.
“Deputies Drew and Layton want me to stay inside while they check it out,” he said, reaching behind his neck and uncoupling her fingers twined behind his head. “But I’ll cover them out back to make sure both exits are blocked.”
“Do you need to do that?” she asked, following him to the back door. “That’s the police’s job.”
Love Inspired Suspense May 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: Trail of EvidenceGone MissingLethal Exposure Page 50