“So that’s what happened.” Janie nodded her head. “You scared the crap out of Craig again, you know. He was afraid he had said something to make you leave.”
“For Pete’s sake… Not everything revolves around Craig…” Janie gave her an exasperated look.
“Oh, it doesn’t? Tell me one decision you’ve made recently that didn’t have something to do with Craig. Even dating Mike, you must have known on some level that he would be affected.”
Janie thought about that. And thought some more…
“… Mom, I feel like I’m on a precipice…” Lily waited. “Could I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure, honey… Anything.” Janie took a deep breath.
“How did you know that you loved Dad?” Lily smiled.
“… Oh… That’s an easy one… I knew I loved him when everything we did was better together. I knew I loved him… when I couldn’t imagine my future without him.” Lily sat up straighter, reaching into her memory.
“I knew I loved him when he was my last thought at night and my first in the morning – He still is. And I knew I loved him when he wanted to have babies as much as I did. But that’s just us…” Janie was in tears. Lily was getting teary herself. When Janie didn’t say anything to that, Lily got up to get them both tissues. Handing her one, Janie tried to talk.
“… Um… I… She couldn’t quite manage it.
“Sweetie… You know Craig loves you, don’t you?”
“Yes…”
“Good. That’s a start. And he has for a long time.”
“So you’ve known for a long time?”
“Yes, honey, and so has everyone else with eyes to see. The man adores you, Janie.”
“Why hasn’t he told me?”
“Well… he hasn’t told me anything, but I would venture a guess that he didn’t want to scare you off. And a good example of that is when Diane breached the gulf of love to reach you, your immediate reaction was to bolt and run. Craig has probably been trying to figure this out too. I’ve come to think that it was good for you to get your feet wet with Mike Church.”
“Love’s a scary proposition, Mom.”
“But wonderful when you get there. Janie, aren’t you in love with Craig?”
Janie looked over at her mother. It was the point of no return. Admitting it to Lily was like admitting it to a priest. It had to be the truth… She took another deep breath.
“Yes, very much.” The last layer peeled back. That shiny treasure was public for all to see… Lily let out a whoosh of breath she’d been holding too. She smiled at her beautiful daughter who was about to step into a world she hadn’t known on a conscious level – That of loving and being loved.
“Thank God for that. We’ve been worried sick around here.”
“Who’s we?”
“… Sandy, me, Mandy, Colt, Jesse, Audrey, Jeanne, Sam… Do you really need a list?” Janie laughed.
“No, I guess not.”
“Will you tell him soon and put the poor man out of his current misery?
Colt met him for lunch today, and he’s in a lather about everything. If he knew you loved him, I bet he’s settle right down. Men do that, you know.” Lily winked at her.
“So that’s what makes them settle down. Really?”
“Well… Maybe not always, but it helps.”
They looked at each other for a long minute.
“I need to go talk to Diane now and then get ready for work.”
“Will you talk to Craig?”
“As soon as I can…”
“Good enough… Love you, sweetie.” Lily smiled at her.
“I love you too, Mom… And thanks.” Janie smiled back.
“You’re welcome.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
That night at the Sheriff’s Office, Janie had caught up on all her paperwork – finally – and decided to get a cup of coffee from the little kitchen at the station. James and Ethan were both out on calls, so she had a rare moment to herself. Janie had called Craig, but he didn’t pick up. She’d left a voicemail saying that she missed him and would see him Friday at the airport, if they didn’t connect before then.
Her mind then wandered to the conversation she’d had with Diane before coming to work. She had gone to her apartment from the ranch, after speaking with her mother. Lily had made her feel she could tackle the next obstacle, which was Diane.
‘“Janie! I was so worried about you! Why didn’t you return any of my calls?” Diane had rushed up to her and had given her a big hug.
After she had disentangled herself, Janie smiled at her. “We need to talk.”
“Okay… What about?”
“Let’s sit down.” They sat at the kitchen table looking at each other.
“First, I want to thank you.”
Diane blinked in surprise. “You do?”
“Yes, you pushed me right over the edge.” She gulped.
“I did?”
“… Yes. After you pretended to like Craig,” she paused to watch Diane turned red, “and that’s what you did, right?”
“Janie…”
“It’s okay… It worked.”
“How did it work?”
“You shook me up so much that I had to get out of here. I drove up to Meg’s in San Francisco. Meg forced me to think about how I really felt about Craig – Something I’ve been reluctant to do.”
“… And?”
“I had to admit that I’m in love with him. Meg wouldn’t let me off the hook until I did.”
Diane let out the big breath she’d been holding. “Oh, thank God! Janie, sometimes you can be so obtuse, but this thing with Craig has been ridiculous. Why, on this green earth, couldn’t you see that you were in love with him?”
“I think I’d need a shrink to help me with that one…”
Diane laughed. “And you must know that he’s in love with you, right?”
“Yes.”
“The dance proved that to me. I watched the two of you dancing together. Both of you looked like you had just gotten lucky. Your faces were glowing and you just looked so happy. Remember when he kissed your hand?”
“You saw that too?”
“Yes, Mike had gone to get a beer and I confess I watched you for a long time. I had my fingers crossed.” She looked shyly at Janie. “You probably don’t know this, but I had called him to come to the dance.”
Janie’s mouth dropped. “What?”
Diane shrugged her shoulders. “The guy needed help, Janie. He was looking like a lost puppy dog.” Janie laughed at that.
“However…”
“There’s a ‘however’?”
“Yes, Craig had scolded me for being Emma when I tried to match you with Ethan. You need to be scolded too for being Emma…” She thought for a minute. “But it worked with you, I guess… Still…”
“Emma?”
“The matchmaker in that Jane Austen story…”
“Oh, yes… Well, I proudly accept that I was being Emma. You two belong together…”’
They had hugged again after that and talked about her broken down car being towed to John Marston’s garage. John had asked her out again and Diane was beside herself, she was so thrilled. Janie told Diane that she was a much better Emma than she had been.
Janie snapped awake when Sheriff Moody came in with an interesting case to discuss with her… Something about counterfeiters working in the area…
“Look, Janie. See this hundred-dollar bill? It’s counterfeit.”
“How do you know?” She took it from him and regarded it closely. It looked real to her.
“Feel the paper. It’s just a bit off. Feels too slick, so the paper composition wasn’t right.”
“What are we doing with this, Sheriff?”
“I just got it from the convenience store on the corner of Elm and 1st Streets. Apparently, there’s a counterfeiter working this area of Nevada and we’ve been asked to be alert.”
“Okay. What do you want
me to do?” Bud gave her a sharp look.
“I’m pulling you off all calls for the next two days. Do as much research as you can on counterfeit money, so we know what to be looking for next time this happens.”
“… You think there’ll be a next time? Wouldn’t the counterfeiter just move to another town?”
“Possibly. We need to know what we’re doing in case he doesn’t. All right? Study. Put everything else aside right now.”
“Sheriff…”
“Yes, I know you’re leaving Friday for the tournament in Vegas, but you’re back on Sunday. I expect you to be up and processing information by that time, if not before.”
“Absolutely. I’ll be ready.”
Janie forgot everything else in her life that was going on and dived headfirst into learning all that she could about how to make counterfeit bills, how to pass those bills and what sorts of resources there were for protecting the public.
At dinnertime, Janie got a sandwich and continued to study on her computer until late. She had Googled all sorts of resources on the Internet and printed out much of it. When she glanced at her phone, she saw a return call from Craig. She listened to his voice mail message. ‘I miss you too – Is there any chance to get together before Friday?’ Wow… It was so lovely to hear his voice again. But no, she thought. This new project was too important and she had very little time to do the research before the counterfeiter left town. If he hadn’t already… She sent him a text back.
‘Sorry. No chance. Bud dropped a big case in my lap and
I have to come through. Been pulled off everything else.’
In a few hours, he texted her back…
‘What’s the case?’
She saw the text from him, stretched and yawned, since it was after eleven and wrote him back.
‘Counterfeiting.’
She forgot about everything else and continued studying until after midnight. Janie finally went home after that and crawled into bed exhausted. The next two days would be a copy of this one. She and Craig kept up texting, which was better than no communication at all.
By Wednesday, Janie knew quite a lot about counterfeit bills. She also knew that she needed to see one Scottish accountant named Craig Ferguson. She didn’t want to see him anymore… She needed to see him. Some kind of big stick was poking at her heart telling her to get it together and talk to him already.
Since she couldn’t do that yet, Janie focused instead of these counterfeit bills that she was beginning to dream about. Her research was extensive.
The U.S. Treasury had been putting high-tech counterfeit-proof bills into circulation since 2003, but that hadn’t stopped creative and not-so-creative minds to try their hands at counterfeiting. The twenty and hundred-dollar bills were the most commonly counterfeited, as Janie could see for herself.
With the new computers and scanners, fake bills were being created that looked incredibly close to the real ones. However, usually the printing was off because of the fine lines in many of the bills. Even the best printers would lose some of the detail. Many of these bills went into circulation at nightclubs and bars where it would be too dark to tell a fake bill.
Also, the paper was a problem. The kind of paper used by the Treasury was called rag paper – It was made from cotton and linen fibers. Putting it in the washing machine wouldn’t destroy real bills, because they won’t disintegrate thanks to the plant fibers. She learned about bleaching the paper to remove images and denomination numbers. Then counterfeiters could create a template to photocopy images and detail fifty or hundred-dollar notes onto the bleached areas of the original currency.
Janie was on a pretty steep learning curve, but was enjoying it as well.
Bud reminded her of the Nevada’s electronic notification system that connected police departments, residents, and businesses across the state. It was called NCAN, the Nevada Crime Alert Network, and allowed police to share information quickly and remain connected. Janie created a memo on tips for local businesses on what to be aware of when accepting cash and spent part of Wednesday afternoon and evening distributing it.
Thursday afternoon, she received a call from a local fast food place. One of the workers had given a curious bill to the manager. Janie went down to investigate and took possession of the bill. She also questioned the worker who had received it.
“So…” she read the name off his badge, “Terry, tell me what happened.”
“This guy came in, ordered some food and then gave me a hundred-dollar bill to pay for it.” Terry was probably sixteen years old.
“What made you suspicious about the bill?”
“The manager made us read that notice you sent around and I just thought the paper felt funny.”
“Funny how?” He looked puzzled.
“I’m not sure. Maybe a little slippery feeling… Just off in some way.”
“Okay. What did the man look like?”
Terry thought that over for a minute.
“… He had brown hair, slightly bald on the top… Maybe he was six feet tall.”
“What makes you so sure that he was the one who gave you the bill?”
“Well, I dropped the bill at first, so I got a real feel of it. Then I looked at the guy and he was unforgettable.”
“How’s that?”
“He had a gold tooth in front. Right here…” Terry pointed to his right, canine tooth in his mouth.
“Thanks. I see… Is there anything else you can tell me about the man?”
“I think that’s about it.”
“Thank you, Terry. I appreciate this.”
Janie had been taking notes and then went back in to see the manager. They spoke for a while about what to do if anything else happened. She gave him her business card and asked that he call her at once if necessary. Janie went back to the Sheriff’s Office and immediately sent in the description of the man and what crime he was suspected of out on NCAN. Within the hour, the Reno Police Department called to say they had a man in custody who fit that description. They wanted her to bring up the witness to identify him as the same man who had passed the bill at the restaurant.
She called Sheriff Moody to let him know of the developments. Bud was pleased that she was able to find the alleged counterfeiter still in the area. Glowing… she received another a call – from Craig.
“Hi…”
“Hi yourself, stranger. I guess you’ve been busy.”
“You too. Did you get Dad and Uncle Bill off all right today?”
“… Finally. They’re all set for their meetings and left this afternoon.”
“Good.”
“Janie…” He started… What could he say? I miss you so much it hurts?
“Any chance we can get together tonight?” What she heard in his voice matched what she felt.
“I sincerely wish we could… There’s tons to say, but I have to take a witness up to Reno PD to ID a suspect. It can’t wait. I’m really sorry…” She could him hear sigh.
“All right. Tomorrow then.” …Tons to say? That was promising at least. “Could I give you a lift to the airport?”
“Please. Then we’ll only have one car to worry about.”
“Great – I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning at eight. Is that good for you?”
“Fine. Thanks, I’ll see you then, Craig.” I’ll miss you until then…
“See you. Good luck with your witness.” I’ll miss you until then…
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Friday morning, Janie and Craig were just beginning to board the plane for Las Vegas, when Janie received a call from the Reno Police Department. She motioned Craig to board without her, which he was unwilling to do, and stepped to one side to answer the call. Craig stepped aside with her.
Craig watched as her face went from serious, to questioning, to excited. She snapped her phone shut, walked over to the good-looking man with soft brown eyes waiting for her… As he had been doing for all her life… Janie gave him a big hug, which he respon
ded to eagerly.
“What?” he said in her ear. The scent of her hair was wonderful…
“Good news…” she whispered back.
She pulled back from him as the line of people boarding was nearly completed and they needed to board. An airport employee was motioning to them.
“That was the Reno Police Department. The suspect that we identified last night is, indeed, the one who was passing fake bills in Naples. He was linked to several other violations around Nevada. The case has been forwarded to the U.S. Secret Service and they want to interview me when I come back from Vegas.”
They started walking up the jetway to the airplane. Craig was flabbergasted.
“That’s wonderful, Janie. So that’s the counterfeiting case you’ve been working on. Can you tell me any more about it or is confidential?”
“I can tell you a bit more.” He took her hand and kissed it, just before they got to the airplane.
“I’m proud of you, Janie. Good work, Deputy…”
She looked at him for minute and would have rushed into his arms, if they hadn’t arrived at the airplane door. She smiled instead and went in to find their seats. When they were buckled in and the plane started down the runway, Craig looked at her.
“Why don’t you apply for the Secret Service? I think you’d be good at this sort of work.”
Janie was surprised. “I never thought of it before. Maybe I’ll check it out, if you think I should.”
It was Craig’s turn to be surprised. Janie always did what she damn well pleased. That she’d consider his opinion important was good news indeed. He smiled and looked for a magazine to read for the hour’s flight to Vegas. When he found some airplane publication, she plucked it out of his hands and put it back.
He turned to her…
“I haven’t seen you in days, Craig Ferguson. I want to talk to you about anything and everything. No reading around me or I will get huffy.” He laughed.
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