by Regan Black
The girl widened the opening and Jaden took a twitchy step inside, wishing she'd forgone the mega dose of caffeine, and shut the door in Micky's face.
* * *
Chief Brian Thomas sat in his office with his right foot propped on his desk and an ice pack on his swollen knee. He'd ditched the contacts and scruffy jacket. Phone card clipped to his pocket, he toyed with his 'prize' while his mentor's affable voice filled his ear.
"Tell me again why I shouldn't have my men out looking for this thief?" Thomas asked.
"Because you're doing me a favor," Albertson said. "The item she stole is of no consequence. What'd she look like?"
"The ghost of Christmas future."
"Beg pardon?"
Thomas moved, then gritted his teeth when his knee complained. "All black. Head to toe. With a cape." He didn't even know her hair color and her eyes had been shadowed as well. Of course she could've disguised her features as he had.
"Ah, yes. The proverbial Bat Girl."
Thomas laughed. "Maybe. The evidence crew lost a man during the response. My men will want to see justice done."
"I'm sorry to hear that. But she won't get away with it."
Thomas caught himself caressing the necklace he'd hastily removed from the display. It took more effort than it should have to lay it down. When he did, his hands felt empty, his chest hollow.
Weird.
"Brian?"
"Yeah, sorry. I'm tired."
"I understand. These are odd hours you're keeping on my behalf. If the media should find this story, let them know you think the crime is of a personal bent."
"So you've got yourself a stalker." Thomas gave a low wolf whistle. "Sure you don't want a team on you?"
"Absolutely not."
Thomas blinked, startled by the vehement reply. "Too bad. She looked professional."
"But what sort of profession?"
Thomas fought back an instinctive defense of the thief, but Albertson's hearty belly laugh sounded first. When he caught his breath the judge said, "She can't touch me."
"If you say so," Thomas replied. His hands were back on the cool gold surrounding the fiery opal of the antique necklace. The filigreed heart-shaped setting would've drawn much attention to the cleavage of the young lady wearing it. "Anything else?"
"No. You've done well and I thank you."
The judge disconnected before Thomas could ask anything else. It seemed he'd have to wait for more answers about the threat this burglar posed. Not unusual, but still irritating.
His desktop monitor lit up with an incoming call. Then another. The primary questions of both callers filled the text fields while pictures of impatient reporters popped up above the words.
The media had found the story all right. With a reluctant touch, he slid the necklace into the lockbox in his desk, and then prepared to enter the gauntlet of question and answer.
The burly man storming into his office stopped him.
"Chuck, have a seat."
"I'll stand." He tossed his silver shield at Thomas. "I won't spend another minute in the hell-hole you've got here."
Deliberate, precise motions moved the ice pack and brought Thomas to his feet. "You'll control yourself and follow orders."
"I won't take orders from a man who'd sacrifice his own."
"You've crossed a line here, Loomis."
"That's the pot callin' the kettle black, I'd say."
Thomas shook his head and then recalled the antiquated saying. "What's set you off?"
Chuck tapped a thick index finger on the desk. "Tonight's little exercise crossed the line, Chief." He sneered at the title. "Wait'll the boys hear Larry died in the name of a lousy test run. Neither you or the city'll survive the Blue Flu."
"Test run? Flu?" Baffled, Thomas dropped back into his chair. "Start over. And use English this time."
"I saw the Michaels woman." Chuck bit out each word. "She's tested response times and codes and the like before."
And suddenly it clicked. The mystery thief was 'the Michaels woman'. Jaden Michaels, a security specialist with a tendency to favor the underdog. She had some sort of girl-power school in town and did some freelance with the police force occasionally, but they'd never met in person.
"Chuck," he applied his calm buddy tone. "We weren't running tests tonight. If you got a call–it was real."
He glared at Thomas. "So real the museum says nothin's gone."
Thomas sat up straight, ignoring the jab of pain climbing his leg when his foot hit the floor. "Nothing?"
"Nope. They just spewed nonsense about false alarms and sent me on my merry way." He swiped that beefy hand over his face and cleared his throat. Twice. "After they took away...the body...I looked around for the laser gun. It wasn't on her, but I'll be damned if I know where she ditched it. Larry'd been trying to link a call we were tracing with the museum break in. When the laser flashed I dodged but it caught the tire. Now how'd she get a hold of that except from someone skimmin' from us?"
Thomas understood every layer of Chuck's agony. "I'll look into it. Personally." Won't have to look far. "I've already seen the video. Larry bounced out of the seat. He just wasn't buttoned down when the vehicle rolled. An unfortunate accident, that's all."
"Bull." Chuck upended an evidence bag and a charred buckle and webbing clattered onto the desk. The bitter smell of burnt flesh and fried circuits hung in the air between them.
Thomas pressed his fingers to his temples in an attempt to stop the relentless pounding. He didn't need to deal with equipment failure, even if it would soothe his conscience.
"Go home. Get some rest. And keep the badge." Chuck nodded, and then just stared down at him like a lost puppy. "Take tomorrow off, Chuck. I'll handle Michaels."
"Yessir." At the door, Chuck paused. "Check the tapes. Larry's last entries should lead you right to her."
"Got it," Thomas said and dismissed the grieving officer.
What the hell was going on?
He had a judge who didn't care about a display he'd personally funded, a museum denying all trouble, a good cop dead, a security specialist posing as a thief, a chat room buzzing with reporters, a bum knee and the devil's own headache.
"Lord love a duck," he groaned and washed a couple of painkillers down with a hefty gulp of antacid.
* * *
Jaden woke a half hour before the day's first class. Her body ached from last night's scuffle at the museum and the impromptu class for Micky. She looked forward to working out the kinks in warm-up. She programmed the shower for high efficiency and tried not to remember a past life when she'd indulged in long hot soaks in a massive marble tub. Having a wealth of diverse experiences in the subconscious wasn't always a gift.
She loathed having to wait another whole day to dig into the diary and fit together the girl's account from last night, but she wouldn't put off the women who sought her instruction. The classes filled a void for her and her students. Whether simply providing fitness and a confidence boost or a life saving tool, she made sure everyone got her money's worth.
"Aren't you the picture of perfection," Cleveland said, walking through the studio door in time to join her for lunch.
She blotted her sweaty face with a towel. "Your timing's suspect."
"No way. I brought food."
She eyed the white sacks, smelled the heady aroma of marinara sauce and sighed. "We feast while some poor child goes hungry."
He laughed and began filling the plates she'd handed him. "The kid two blocks over is fine. I bought for him too."
"Who? Quinn?" She grabbed two bottles of water, tossed the towel in the direction of the workout room and sat down to the nearest full plate. "Cool. He doesn't get the first shot at a hot meal very often."
"I don't know." Cleveland pinned her with a look. "He mentioned something about two days running."
Jaden felt color creep up her neck, but refused comment. "Why're you here?" she asked around a mouthful of fettuccine.
"I wo
rry," he said.
"Bad for your health. I'm a big girl."
"Lookin' to chew on a bigger bone."
She stopped eating. Could Cleveland be like her? Another soul reliving life until he got it right. "Just what do you think you know?"
"Enough to point you in the right direction. Last night paid off, right?"
"Financially." She weighed the risks and went for it. "Other areas, I'm not so sure. Met a girl marked up recently."
"Dead or alive?"
"Depends on your definition."
Judging by the haunted eyes and hollow voice, she'd have to say dead. But if life meant merely a beating heart and independent breathing, alive would be the verdict.
"So how you gonna take down the untouchable?"
"Excuse me?"
"I know what Judge Albertson's capable of."
"What makes you think I do?" Jaden tried to avoid his penetrating gaze, but she couldn't avoid the finger on his neck, tracing a faint scar behind his left ear she'd never noticed before.
"Let's say we have some things in common."
Her appetite gone, she pushed the plate aside and crossed her arms over her chest. "What gave me away?"
"Nothing," Cleveland admitted. "I just knew what to look for and where to look for it. My sister didn't make it. Killed herself halfway through counseling."
Jaden wasn't sure she could take any more victim stories right now. Or ever. Last night had been bad. The judge was escalating and she had to find a way to stop him.
Permanently.
"Look, Jaden, all I'm sayin' is, whatever you need–count me in."
"This is a solo gig, Cleveland."
"Maybe it shouldn't be." He stood and with a flippant salute, was out the door.
Unsettled, Jaden switched on the wall-mounted video panel. She left it tuned to her favorite of the myriad 24/7 news networks and caught the tail end of the police chief's press conference.
"We're investigating the cause of death. We suspect the officer will be cleared of any wrong doing and the criminals apprehended soon."
She studied the image, grabbed the remote and keyed the request for a closer camera angle. The image changed, zooming in on the chief's face.
"I'll be damned," she muttered to the air around her. The facial structure reminded her of last night's street rat, but the eyes were the wrong color.
No, she corrected. Today they were the right color. The unique, deceptively easy-going pewter gray. The color they'd been when she'd fallen in love with him. A millennium ago.
"So you have a lead?" a reporter called from off camera.
"We're working from surveillance material in the evidence vehicle, the surviving officer's testimony and other resources."
"Meaning informants?" another voice cried out.
"Meaning other resources." The chief gave a benign smile and stepped back from the podium. He turned and walked away with a pronounced limp.
"Other resources my butt," Jaden hissed at the image on screen. "Bet that's really hurting you today." She couldn't help her smug smile. But it faded as she tried to sort out why the police chief would be posing as a street rat.
She pushed it to the back of her mind and went to greet the next class. She demonstrated, they followed, she encouraged, they panted. And still at the end of class, her mind hadn't unraveled the mystery. The chief was surely in the judge's pocket, so why not arrest her when he had the chance?
Then, in the final pose of the cool down it hit her. Other resources. If Chuck tagged her with a tracking device, he could lead them straight to her. It was time to make a dive for the bottom of the societal pool until she planned her attack.
"Jaden?"
She turned to see her part-time assistant, Brenda Calhoun, threading her way through the departing class. "Hi there. You want to take the afternoon schedule?"
"Sure." Brenda wrung her hands, and then swung her arms back into a stretch. "Um, my court date's tomorrow. You asked me to remind you."
Jaden groaned inside. She couldn't dive when she had to appear as a witness for Brenda. "Thanks. I have it on my office calendar."
"I appreciate it. Your set of photos is all that's left of that night."
"What?" Jaden reeled from the shock like she'd been punched.
"The hospital records went missing."
"Who's presiding tomorrow?"
"Judge A."
"I see." Did she ever. The whole twisted picture.
Brenda's ex-boyfriend had been a bailiff in Judge Albertson's courtroom. He'd apparently served him well, if the Judge was pulling favors like this. "Awful small case for Judge A to be looking at."
"That's what my advocate-advisor said."
Jaden wanted to groan. A battered woman, not nearly recovered, with only the aid of an advocate-advisor. She didn't stand a chance against a false accusation judgment. And Albertson loved to hand those out like candy on Halloween.
"What do you need if you lose?"
Brenda paled. Jaden hated making her think about the worst-case scenario, but it was a likely outcome.
"I-I'm not sure."
In a display far too rare these days, Jaden's heart softened. She led Brenda away from the classroom to her apartment upstairs. In the kitchen she began brewing her personal blend of comforting tea.
When Brenda's hands were wrapped around a warm mug, Jaden tried to make it as painless as possible. "You have to think about it. Has he made any threats?"
"Not while the TRO's been in effect."
"Brenda, a temporary restraint is only temporary."
"I know, I know." She looked at Jaden with frightened blue eyes filled with tears. "But I like my job. Jobs," she smiled and glanced in the direction of the classroom. "I have real friends, a real life again."
"Any family who could keep an eye out for you?"
"Not in town."
"Where?" Jaden pushed. "You have to consider running. If the court rules you've accused falsely you won't have any legal support."
The tears fell and Brenda wiped at them, but it didn't stem the tide.
Uncomfortable, Jaden reached out, hoping the touch would calm Brenda. The girl needed to start thinking clearly again.
"You think I'll lose," she whispered.
"It's likely."
"But you have the pictures."
She had more, but wouldn't mention it yet. "Pictures or not, Brenda, it doesn't look good."
"Can you help?" Brenda whispered at last.
"I can testify." Regretfully, at the moment it was all she could do.
She'd gladly kill Judge Albertson with her bare hands in front of a thousand witnesses. But she'd been there and done that. Instead of a T-shirt, she'd been awarded a lethal bullet.
And had been given yet another life to try again.
"I can get you out of town. If you lose, we'll both have to disappear."
"But your school, the students." Brenda's head landed in her hands. "Oh, Jaden. I'm sorry I ever got you into this."
Jaden stood to pace, her racing mind demanding a physical outlet. "Trust me. I was hip deep before we ever met."
"What?"
"Never mind. If the case goes bad tomorrow, I'll see you safely out of town. In the meantime, teach this next class. And when you get home, pack a bag and be alert."
Brenda nodded, with a little more confidence, then headed off to follow Jaden's orders, leaving Jaden with cold tea and boiling thoughts.
Nothing she knew added up to anything she could use to eliminate the judge legally. Albertson's reach was increasing. In all the lives she'd known him, he'd never been sloppy about the people he chose to use, whether for his own perverse delight or to increase his power within a community. Which meant Chief Thomas was a vital link. Again.
"Great," she muttered to the empty kitchen. "He's even named for a doubter this time."
The control panel chimed, announcing the arrival of more students. Jaden shoved back from the table and went to make some calls. Whether or not Chief Th
omas would kill her in the days to come, she first had to arrange for Brenda to survive tomorrow.
Chapter Three
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." –Tacitus
Jaden resented the chime of midnight and her complete sleeplessness. Shoving fingers through her hair, she loosened the braid she'd woven minutes earlier.
So far, the diary revealed nothing of value. No new or vital tidbit of information she'd forgotten in the living of a dozen lives. She locked it back in her safe.
With a gusty sigh, she let herself long for the sort of rest that was impossible in her current state of existence. She ached for eternity's blissful peace.
Irritable, she strode through the kitchen and down the hall to pound her stress into the punching bag.
She could feel the Judge on the far edge of her conscious mind, and knew without doubt the outcome of Brenda's case. With no authenticated video or still shots of the damage her ex-boyfriend caused, Brenda was doomed to serve time as a false accuser.
A swift kick sent the bag out and Jaden caught it in a hard hug on the return. Her first instinct was to make contact with her one link inside the system, but Larry had died en route to a crime scene starring her as the criminal.
Correction–he'd died when the police chief posing as a street rat lasered the tire. That eased the burden a bit.
Larry believed in his oath to protect society and his fellow officers. She combined two uppercuts with a right hook and smiled as she considered the hero's homecoming Larry must be enjoying in the eternity she desperately wanted for herself.
A yellow light above the doorway diverted her attention. She held her position at the bag and waited for a follow up signal or sound. She expected a grind or hiss of a lock being tumbled or bypassed. She didn't expect footsteps on the roof, or the sound of windows shattering in her classroom downstairs.
She thought first of the diary, then the photos in her floor safe. Then her mind emptied as she prepared to defend her home, and possibly her life.