by Kelly Shade
Jane was relieved. He’s here, she thought. Excited, but a bit scared, Jane knew she had to be calm.
“No, but you can tell him Jane Blake is visiting,” she said coldly, and the guard spoke to his radio.
“Let Ms. Blake in,” an even colder voice answered. Blake’s stomach flipped. She heard the voice for the first time of her life, but it sounded somehow familiar.
Jane grabbed a lipstick from her bag. It was important to have it in her hand. The guard welcomed her. The other one searched her and took her weapon. “We will give it to you on the way out.”
Then he walked her to the office of his boss. After the wooden doors opened and another two guards showed up, the first one nodded goodbye and walked away. Jane looked at the small hall before the actual office. These two gorillas searched her again.
There were two surveillance cameras above the entrance and two guards up front. They gestured for her to walk in and took their positions. Jane walked inside slowly. A man with white, glossy hair was sitting on a beautiful nearly black wenge desk. He must be around sixty-something years old, but there were only two or three wrinkles on his face. His cold, bright green eyes were staring at Jane.
“I was wondering when I would see you, Ms. Blake.” His voice was deep and hoarse.
“So you knew I was coming.” Jane sat on the chair across from his desk.
“Of course, I knew. So, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Michael Morse was calm and smiling. But the smile was only on his mouth; his eyes were icy and frightening.
“Why do you want me dead?” Blake got straight to the point. “Oh, and by the was Alaric Savela says hi from jail.”
The man narrowed his eyes, took a breath and lifted the book that was lying on the desk next to him. He started to turn over the pages and spoke in a monotone.
“Jane, Jane, Jane. Maybe it is time to give up. I know you think you can fight back. But you are weak. You can feel it. You are losing it.” Still turning the pages over and over again, Michael stared into her eyes, waiting for something to happen “You are feeling exhausted and scared . . .”
Jane laughed out loud. “Are you seriously trying to hypnotize me?”
Morse was shocked. He closed the book and threw it away from him, hitting one of his bodyguards. The poker face he was trying to hold turned to anger and a stern expression.
“Little girl, I wanted to make it easy for you! You think Savela told you where to find me out of goodwill? No! He couldn’t kill you; that’s why he sent you here! Now I have to kill you myself.” Michael got a gun out of his drawer and pointed it at her.
“Do it, and we all go in the air!” Jane smiled deviously. “You see that?” She lifted her right hand with the lipstick, opened it, removed the little part which was the actual lipstick, and put her finger on the button inside. “You shoot and . . . I think you know what this is.”
“A bomb? Clever girl! I’m impressed!” Morse lowered his weapon. “You are bluffing! There are no explosives here!” he said with a smile and grabbed her left hand. He held it so tightly that Jane was sure she would have bruises.
“Wanna try? Come on, kill me and you will see.” Blake twisted her arm around his and freed it. Then she leaned back calmly and looked at him arrogantly.
“Why are you here? What do you want?” Michael shouted furiously.
“Tell me why you want me dead,” answered Jane quietly.
“You are a mistake that cost me a lot. And sooner or later I will kill you!”
“I doubt it. It is because of my mother, right?”
“Your mother was a silly little girl who went too far! Just like you!” he said with disgust and then raised his voice “Leave! Get out of my house!”
“I guess Rose Hunt and Amber Gray were silly girls who went too far, too?” Jane nagged.
“Even more so!” he said arrogantly and lifted his left eyebrow.
“So my mother isn’t dead. Thanks for the info!” Jane lifted her eyebrow and smiled.
“You think you’re smart? I’ll show you smart! Now leave!”
Morse stood up and left the room. Jane was with the guards now. She swung her arm while standing up and "accidentally" broke Morse’s whiskey glass.
“I’m sorry!” Blake reached for the pieces on the ground, while still holding the button on the lipstick. Without anyone noticing she put one part in her bag and went out. The guard who took Jane’s gun threw it at her, and she almost dropped the lipstick which would have blown her cover.
As fast as she could, Blake ran to her car and drove off.
Instead of heading home, she went to Barbara Bradley’s house. It was almost 8 p.m. A little boy opened the door, and Jane asked politely, “Hey, can you call your mom?” The boy nodded and shouted, “Mommy!”
Barbara went out and saw Jane standing on her doorstep. “What’s up, Blake?”
“I need a favor!” Jane said and took out part of the broken glass. It was in a small vacuum bag. “I need you to check the DNA and the fingerprints on that.”
“Okay. And why are you coming here? You could give it to me in the station.” Barbara was puzzled.
“That’s the favor. I need this to stay between us,” Blake whispered.
“Why?” Barbara got curious.
“Because the team doesn’t know about my investigation. It is too dangerous. I don’t want to involve them.” Jane explained. “And one more thing . . .” Jane pulled a few hairs from her head and put them in another plastic bag. “Check to see if we are related.”
“Did you find your parents?” Barbara asked excitedly.
“No, but I think I’m close. I just found some similarities between this man and me; I need to be sure,” Jane said. “Can I rely on you? I’ll owe you if you need something.”
“Yeah, I’ll do it. I don’t want anything now, but if someday . . .” Barbara took the two packages and put them in her pocket.
“Yeah, anytime!” said Jane happily. “Call me when it’s done!”
Mrs. Bradley nodded.
After visiting Michael Morse, Blake knew there would be many more attempts to kill her. It was risky to go there alone, but it was worth it. There was something very weird about the man. Jane had a sickening feeling in her stomach. What if her trick didn’t work? Of course, there was no bomb in his mansion.
Jane was finally home. Exhausted by the long drive, she lay on the couch. Blake knew she had to call Ryan, but her thoughts couldn’t let her. She stared at the ceiling with her cell phone in her hand. Morse remembered her mother. She was close. What did she do? Killing Jane was a punishment or . . . Blake couldn’t understand the connection. She was sure she never crossed paths with this man during her illegal period. Jane remembered every single person she robbed and met. Her phone rang and took her out of her thoughts. It was Ryan.
“What’s up? Don’t tell me you forgot the plan?” he sounded cheerful.
“Of course not. I was just about to call you,” Jane lied.
“I’m bringing sushi for dinner,” said Gray and hung up.
Jane hurried to put a wrist strap on her hand. Morse’s grip left a purple-blue print on it. Blake didn’t want Ryan to see it.
Minutes later Gray was at her front door.
“Come in!” Jane shouted when she saw him on the camera.
He went in and found her lying on the couch with the laptop on her knees. Ryan put the take-out on the table.
“What’s up? You look tired. Where have you been?”
“I had some work out of town.”
Ryan moved her bag so he could sit next to her but he dropped it. The lipstick-detonator. It broke apart, and he saw the button.
“Is that a . . .?”
“It’s fake,” Jane hurried to calm him.
“And why do you have it in your bag?” Ryan asked.
“Just in case.” Blake replaced it. “I want to do something before dinner. But I need your help.”
“Of course, what is it?” Ryan was flattered Jane neede
d him and forgot about the detonator.
“I want you to check if there are missing reports or newspaper articles about Caleb Vang. But don’t use the name. Try finding the face. Can you do that?” Jane asked.
“Now? Before Christmas? Do we really have to?” Ryan’s smile disappeared.
“Please! For me?” Jane made a cute face which melted Ryan.
He grabbed his laptop. He opened the police database and there was a person who looked a little like Caleb but not enough. Ryan continued with the search. Many windows started to pop up on the screen, but Ryan didn’t stop checking different databases and news articles. At last, he found a few documents worth printing. Jane was impatiently waiting at the printer with her hand reaching for the papers as they came out.
She took them and spread them on the table.
“Here. A man who ran off a bridge with his car. With no beard and long hair. This is Caleb!” Jane smiled widely.
Ryan took the article from her hands and confirmed it. The police stopped searching for the body after a week, and the person was pronounced dead. His family continued looking for a couple of months, but probably they also quit.
“Find the address!” Jane said excitedly.
Ryan typed the person’s name in the police database and found an address in New York.
“Call the locals!” Jane ordered, still looking at the man’s photo. He was younger then, after all, it had been almost seven years. He had two kids and a lovely wife. “And we are going to the mental hospital!”
“No one will let us in, Jane! It’s 10 p.m.” said Ryan, hanging up the phone. He spoke with the NYPD, and they were happy to hear his news about a missing person with a changed identity being accused of murder.
“We will sneak!” Jane smiled deviously. “Don’t forget I’m a thief!”
“You were a thief, Blake, were a thief!” Ryan looked at her judgingly.
They went to the hospital and sneaked in. They both were dressed as electricians and told the receptionist there was a problem they had to fix. The lady was so very bored and sleepy she didn’t care where they were headed. With caps on, looking down and sneaking from corner to corner to avoid the cameras, they arrived at Caleb Vang’s room.
Caleb was sleeping heavily, and Jane had to shake him to wake him up. Ryan explained the situation and Caleb agreed to go with them. Jane had a uniform for him, too. Together they sneaked out. The receptionist was asleep now. Ryan, Jane, and Caleb went back to Blake’s house. The officer from the NYPD promised to get the first plane to LA and to be at Jane’s address in the morning.
“Do you remember her?” Jane showed Caleb an article with a photo of his wife and kids.
“Yes, that’s the woman I told you about!” Vang smiled excitedly, but suddenly his smile disappeared. “What should I tell her. I don’t even know her name. And I killed a woman. How should I look her in the eyes?”
“You did not kill Amber! You were framed, the evidence was planted.” Jane calmed him and offered him a drink. “I’m quite sure you will remember everything in a week. I believe the pills the doctors gave you were the reason you can’t remember.”
“You were in a crash. How were you when the police caught you for my mom’s murder?” Ryan asked.
“Well, I had bruises and my ribs hurt, but overall I was fine. They said the woman fought me and since I was homeless; it wasn’t a surprise,” said Vang. “But why me? Why from New York? How did I deserve that?”
“We don’t know, but the truth will come out eventually!” Jane said.
Three of them spent the rest of the night talking. At five in the morning two officers and one woman rang Jane’s door bell. The discussion was long and exhausting. The woman was the laboratory lady who carried a mobile lab with her. She took blood from Caleb and confirmed he was drugged. Ryan had to call Hunt to send a team to arrest the doctor in charge and whoever was involved. Gray refused to spend more of his holiday time investigating a mental clinic and asked Jane to stay out of it, too. They both trusted Hunt would do the job perfectly without them. After everything was settled, Caleb Vang went with the New York officers. They had to go to LAPD to make a statement and then they would fly to NYC.
“Goodbye and thank you for everything! I don’t know how I’ll repay you!” Caleb said happily after he was a hundred percent sure he wasn’t a killer. “You gave me my life back! Thank you! If I can do anything for you, just call! I believe you will find my number!” he smiled widely and went out with the officers.
Jane and Ryan were finally alone in the house. They took their coffee to the garden.
“We did something great today, Jane! Thank you for making me do it!” Ryan spoke quietly “We brought back a father and husband to his family on Christmas!”
“We did,” said Jane sleepily. “I just hope she remembers him and she is still single.”
“So there is a romantic side of you, huh?” Ryan turned to her.
“Huh, very funny!” she said sarcastically.
Ryan didn’t speak on the subject anymore. They spent the morning discussing all the presents Jane bought for the team. Ryan wanted to make Jane tell him how she knew everyone’s secrets. After half an hour he gave up trying. Silence took place, and Jane started thinking about Morse again.
“Tell me what’s wrong. I may not be an expert like you, but I can tell when something is bothering you!” Ryan was getting better at reading people. Well, in reading Jane. He was still bad at getting other people’s emotions.
“It’s nothing. I have a bad feeling about the Rewera, that’s all,” Jane said the first lie she could think of.
“The serial killer?” asked Ryan surprisingly “Your mind works weird, Blake.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Jane smiled “You can choose from the two bedrooms next to mine or the guest room on the first floor.” It was lunchtime, but they needed to rest.
“I prefer the second floor.” Ryan decided to go with the flow “I wondered why do you have such a big house. After all, you live alone.”
“I like luxury life. Is that bad?” Jane said.
“Not at all,” answered Ryan while they were climbing the stairs.
“If you need something, just knock on my door.” Jane pointed at it and walked into her bedroom.
Ryan hesitated trying to decide if he should stop her, but he just spoke through the closed door. “Thanks for letting me stay!”
“You are always welcome!” Jane shouted back. She was already in her bed.
Chapter 13
We all bleed the same!
The holidays were over. Jane and Ryan spent four days together trying to get more leads on Michael. Gray checked to see if there was a Michael with a significant criminal record. It wasn’t a big surprise that he didn’t find anything. The only people named Michael and the suitable age had some community service charges. At least in California. Of course, it was a challenge to check all the records in the States. And if he were under FBI investigation, Ryan had to crack their files, and that would be very illegal.
The time Blake and Gray spent together made them closer as friends. They had a lot in common, they talked and laughed. Jane was getting more comfortable trusting him. Ryan, a little disappointed because he wanted more than friendship, finally understood that Jane needed time to open up. Maybe someday but not today, not before she knew the truth about her biological family, not before they caught his mother’s killer.
After the break, Jane was happy to see the homicide office. Nick and Ian were waiting for her and Ryan.
“Is it true? You were together?” Nick teased.
“Yep. Maybe when you grow up, you will understand boys and girls can be just friends.” Ryan ended the jokes before they even started.
Ian and Nick made stupid faces and turned back to their desks.
“Gray, my office now!” Hunt’s voice echoed.
Ryan hurried to see what was happening. Jane sat on her chair undisturbed by the boss. Minutes later Hunt shouted again.
> “Blake!”
Jane had a bad feeling about this. At first, she thought it was because of Ryan’s stay at her place. But then another thought popped up. She was hoping she was wrong about it.
“What’s up, Hunt?” she walked in and saw both Ryan and Conner staring at the laptop.
“Alaric Savela is dead,” Ryan said.
“How?” Jane knew how. Michael Morse ordered the hit after her visit.
“Inmate killed him because Savela stole his book,” Hunt said. “But we both know that’s not true.”
Blake was right. They knew about her trip to Mexico. But the question was how they knew.
“What were you doing in Tijuana?” Connor asked.
“So Gray, you bugged my phone. I assume the last working day before Christmas. That’s why you came in the morning. And you stayed at my house to babysit me.” Jane looked at him sharply. Ryan had his face in his hands. He was ashamed.
“I had to make sure you were safe.”
“What were you doing in Mexico, Blake?” insisted Hunt with a harsh voice.
“Whatever I was doing there is nothing you should be worried about,” Jane answered.
“I am worried. You are part of my team. I have to know what is happening with my people! Now tell me what the hell you were doing in Tijuana!” Hunt was mad and worried at the same time.
“It is way too dangerous to get you involved.” Jane decided to be honest. There was no point in lying.
“We are homicide detectives; I think we can handle it!” Hunt was a bit offended.
Jane was considering whether she had to tell them. Luckily Ian Valdez interrupted. “Sorry to bother you, but we have work to do! There’s been a murder. Looks like the serial killer,” he said and walked out.
“This conversation isn’t over!” Hunt was as serious as could be. “Now go!”
Jane and Ryan left the office. Ian told them the address and said he and Nick would wait for them there. Blake hurried to her car with Ryan behind her.
“I’m sorry!”
“No need for apologies; you just reminded me why I don’t trust anybody!” Jane angrily slammed the car door and drove off.