Fugitive at Large

by Sandra Robbins

  With a groan he pounded his fist against the wall. It all came back to his brother, everything he and Jessica had gone through the past couple of days. “Jamie, where are you?”

  A nurse coming down the hall stopped beside him, her eyes wide, concern evident in her expression. “Are you all right, sir?”

  His face grew warm, and he wondered if his skin had turned red. He nodded. “I’m fine. Just a little upset over the accident I was involved in.” He pointed toward the cubicle where Jessica waited. “Is there anyone with Miss Knight, or can I go on in?”

  “We’re through examining her. You can go in.”

  “Thank you.” He ducked his head and stepped past the nurse. Outside the room he paused and tapped on the wall next to the curtain. “Jessica, it’s Ryan. Can I come in?”

  “Please do. I’ve been wondering when you were going to get here.”

  He pulled the curtain back and stepped into the cubicle. She sat on the exam table with her legs dangling over the side. A bandage stretched across her forehead along her hairline above her right eye.

  His feet seemed rooted to the spot, and his pulse raced at how pale she looked with the bandage across her forehead. He willed himself to move, and in two steps he stood facing her. “What happened?” he asked, nodding at the bandage.

  She raised her hand and touched it with her index finger. “It’s really just a scratch. I must have hit my head against the side of the sunroof when I was climbing out.”

  Ryan stared at the bandage for a moment before he swallowed and took a deep breath. As hard as it was, he looked her right in the eye. “I’m so sorry for getting you mixed up in this, Jessica. If the car had dropped into the water, we’d probably both be dead now. I can’t bear to think you might have been killed because you were trying to help me find Jamie.”

  She leaned forward and grasped his hand. “None of this is your fault. We chose dangerous professions, and we have to accept the risks that go with them.”

  “No!” he growled and jerked his hand away from her. “You don’t have to take the risk for something my immature brother got mixed up in. I think it would be better if we stop this search together right now. I’ll go it alone. If I locate Lee Tucker, I’ll let you know so you can take him in, but I don’t want you in danger again because of me.”

  Her eyebrows arched. “I don’t think you have much to say about it. I told you I’d help find Jamie, and I intend to do it. You can’t dismiss me, especially now. Not when you need me.”

  “Need you? What makes you think that?”

  She hopped down off the table. “Because the last time I saw your car, it didn’t look like it could ever be driven again. You don’t have a car anymore, but I do.”

  “Jessica, that’s not—”

  She held up a hand to stop him. “Save your breath, Spencer. I’m not going anywhere until we’ve found the answers we need. Somebody has gone to a lot of trouble to keep us from finding out what Jamie has stumbled on, and we can’t give up now.”

  The overhead light reflected off her face, making her eyes sparkle. Even though they’d just come through a narrow escape from death, she almost looked happy. When he had seen her a year ago, she had been angry and hostile toward him. That hostility seemed to have vanished, and he was beginning to see the old Jessica, the one he’d worked with and had fallen in love with. And he liked what he saw.

  He smiled. “Okay, if you say so...” He hesitated before he said it. “Partner.”

  She stuck out her hand. “Partner.”

  A warm rush flowed through him, but before he could respond, a voice from the doorway interrupted their conversation. “Jessica?”

  They both looked up to see Jessica’s brother Lucas standing in the doorway. Ryan’s first thought was the same as it always was when he saw Lucas. How could he possibly be Jessica’s twin brother? They looked nothing alike.

  With her auburn hair and hazel eyes, Jessica looked more like her mother, while Lucas and Adam had both inherited their father’s dark complexion. Lucas’s dark hair brushed the collar of the leather jacket he wore, and from the stubble on his face, it appeared he hadn’t shaved today. A pair of high-priced sunglasses sat propped on top of his head.

  He frowned as he let his gaze drift over Ryan before he turned a worried look to his sister. “What’s going on? I had a call from the Highway Patrol that you had been in an accident. I got here from Memphis as fast as I could.”

  Jessica’s eyebrows arched, and she glanced down at her wristwatch. “Given the time of our accident and your arrival here, you must have ignored all speed limits.”

  Lucas stepped over to Jessica and put his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t remember. All I could think about was getting here to you. Are you all right?”

  “I am.” She glanced at Ryan. “Lucas, do you remember Ryan Spencer?”

  Lucas glanced at him, and the corner of his lip curled upward. “Yeah, I remember. He’s the reason you came to work at the agency with us, isn’t he?”

  Jessica swatted her brother’s arm and frowned. “Don’t be rude, Lucas. We’ve settled that problem between us. Ryan and I are working on a case together, and we had a little accident on the way back from Nashville.”

  Lucas’s eyes grew wide. “Little accident? From what the police said, if it wasn’t for some truckers, you wouldn’t be alive. Maybe you’d better let this case go. You’re not a police officer anymore. You’re a bounty hunter.”

  “And this involves a fugitive I intend to bring in.” She reached for her jacket that lay on a chair beside the exam table. “The doctor said I could leave whenever someone came for me. So let’s go. Ryan and I can tell you all about it on the way back to Memphis.”

  Lucas arched an eyebrow and stared at Ryan. “Oh, do you need a ride, too?”

  “Of course he needs a ride!” Jessica’s shrill voice bounced off the walls. “It was his car that went over the side of that bridge. Now quit acting like an overprotective brother and let’s get out of here.”

  Lucas gave Ryan a wary look and sighed. “Okay, sorry. My car is outside. Let’s go.”

  Ryan didn’t say anything but followed the two of them down the hallway and outside to the parking lot where Lucas had left his car. Lucas punched the key fob to unlock the doors, and Jessica climbed into the front seat passenger side. Ryan slid into the backseat and pulled the seat belt tight.

  They headed to the interstate, and Lucas turned west toward Memphis. No one had spoken since getting in the car, and Ryan hunkered down, ready to survive a hostile ride back home.

  In the front seat, Lucas reached over and tuned the radio to a different station just as a campaign ad for Chip Holder filled the air. Ryan shook his head in disbelief. The media everywhere seemed filled with the election, and if it wasn’t an ad for Mitchum, it was one for Holder.

  He listened as the narrator extolled the military exploits of Chip Holder as a prisoner of a hostile militant group in the Middle East while he was in the army and how he’d suffered at their hands. The experience, according to the ad, had served as a renewal of patriotism and love for his country and a reminder of the need to support all our military personnel and veterans. The ad ended with a statement that Washington needed new blood with the courage to help overcome the mistakes Senator Mitchum had inflicted on the American people during his tenure.

  Lucas turned the radio down as the ad ended and glanced at Jessica. “I like what that guy says. I’m going to vote for him. How about you?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet.” She glanced over her shoulder at Ryan and smiled, but he turned his head to stare out the window.

  After a moment, she settled back in her seat and closed her eyes. Ryan leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes as they sped along the interstate, but he bolted upright when his cell phone rang. He pulled it
from his pocket and stared in surprise at the caller ID. “It’s Jamie,” he said.

  Jessica swiveled in her seat and stared at him over her shoulder. “Answer it and find out what’s going on.”

  He connected the call and pulled the phone to his ear. “Jamie, where are you?” he shouted. “And what are you mixed up in?”

  “And hello to you, too, brother,” Jamie said. “I just wanted to let you know I’m okay and on my way back to Tennessee.”

  “Where have you been?”

  “I’ve been in Atlanta, and now I’m headed to East Tennessee to check out some information.”

  “Jamie, I’ve been worried to death about you. Why were you in Atlanta and what lead are you following?”

  A long sigh echoed in Ryan’s ear. “I’m sorry if I worried you. I should have told you more. I just got off the phone with Ellie, and she said she told you about Gerald Price.”

  “Yes. And?”

  “When I found out he’d been murdered, I decided to go interview Cal Harvey’s parents since they had hired him. They were glad to talk to me. They said when Cal and Susan were murdered, they received an anonymous tip about a corrupt public figure who had ties to the military. Since Senator Mitchum was on the Armed Services Committee, they thought it had to be him, and they were investigating his past when they were murdered.”

  “Did they find anything?”

  “Cal’s parents didn’t know. Cal and his wife were murdered a few days later.”

  “So they think Senator Mitchum had something to do with Cal’s and Susan’s murders?”

  “Yes, and that’s why I’m on my way to East Tennessee and Senator Mitchum’s home county. I’m going to nose around and see if I can find out anything from the locals. Then I think I’ll take a swing through Holder’s home county. But I should be home by tomorrow night.”

  “Jamie, I don’t like this. Come home. Richard Parker, the clerk at the convenience store, was murdered, and the police need to talk to you. I’ll go with you to see Mac, and then we can work on this angle together.”

  “That guy at the store was murdered, too? It looks like this story is getting bigger all the time.”

  “It is, but you need to get out before you get hurt.”

  “Don’t worry, Ryan. I’ll be careful. I promise I’ll be home by tomorrow night, and then I’ll go to the police with you.”

  Ryan could hear the determination in Jamie’s voice, and he knew it would do no good to argue with him. Maybe he could reason with him when he got home.

  “I think you should come now, but I know it’s useless to argue with you. Be careful.”

  “I will. Talk to you later.”

  The call disconnected, and Ryan glanced up to see Jessica still staring at him. “What did he say?”

  He shoved the phone back in his pocket and frowned as he relayed the conversation to her. When he’d finished, she pursed her lips. “So what do we do next?”

  Ryan glanced at her brother and noticed how he suddenly tensed at her words. “Jessica, you don’t have—”

  She darted a glance at her brother and then back to him. “I’m not giving up on this, Ryan. I want to bring Lee Tucker in. Why don’t we go down to Beale Street tonight and see if we can find Kenny Macey? Maybe he knows if Lee Tucker has ties to Senator Mitchum.”

  “Are you sure you feel up to it?” Ryan asked.

  Lucas started to open his mouth, but before he could speak, Jessica answered. “I’m fine. Now, what time shall I pick you up?”

  Lucas clamped his lips shut, and Ryan couldn’t help but grin. He was sure her brothers had learned long ago that once Jessica set her mind to something, there was no changing it. He’d certainly found that out early on in their partnership.

  “Seven o’clock be okay?”

  “That will be fine.”

  She turned back to stare out the windshield, and they didn’t speak again as they sped toward Memphis.

  His thoughts returned to his brother and what he had said about Senator Mitchum. Proving a United States senator was corrupt could be a difficult and dangerous task. He doubted if a college kid who worked on the school newspaper was up to the challenge.

  The thought, however, sent shivers up his spine. He didn’t want to see his brother hurt. He glanced at Jessica, and his heart lurched at the thought of her being in danger. But it looked as if they were all three headed to a showdown with one of the most powerful politicians in the country. And he didn’t like it one bit.

  EIGHT

  Jessica checked the street number on the mailbox beside the curving driveway that led up to a sprawling house at the top of a small hill. Had her GPS calculated the route to Ryan’s house wrong, or had she put in the wrong numbers?

  She checked the route she’d programmed in before leaving her apartment. This had to be the right address, but Ryan had said nothing about living in such a lavish house, almost a mansion to her way of thinking. The two-story colonial with its six white columns reminded her of what one might see on a Southern plantation.

  Taking a deep breath to calm her suddenly racing heart, she eased down on the accelerator and drove toward the front of the house. She pulled to a stop facing a breezeway that linked the house with another smaller building, probably the garage, but it looked as if it might be large enough to have an apartment above.

  The overhead lights in the breezeway burned, and she spotted a door that led into the house. She had just stepped from the car when the door opened, and Ryan stepped out. He smiled as she walked toward him.

  “You’re right on time,” he said. “I just got off the phone with Ellie. I let her know I’d heard from Jamie and that he’ll be home tomorrow.”

  Jessica smiled. “I’m sure she was glad to hear that.”

  “She was.” A smile curled his lips as he stared at her. “Want to come in for a few minutes?”

  She came to a stop next to him and shook her head in amazement. “Why didn’t you tell me you lived in such luxury? This is a big step up from that small apartment you had when we were working together.”

  The tip of his ear turned red and an embarrassed smile pulled at his mouth. “I told you my father bought a new house just before he and my mother were killed. I didn’t think I could live here at first. It reminded me of my parents. I tried living with Jamie at my old apartment, but he needed a change. We moved in here about the time you transferred to another precinct. It was just what we needed. Both of us realized Mom and Dad had given us one last gift, and we were able to finally come to terms with our new relationship.”

  Jessica followed Ryan into the house and stopped in surprise. They had entered a sunroom that seemed so inviting she wanted to sit down on the wicker furniture and just gaze out the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. In the backyard copper path lights shed their beams across ornamental grasses that flanked the edges of well-maintained beds of perennials. The sight almost took Jessica’s breath away.

  “Oh, Ryan,” she breathed. “The backyard is gorgeous.”

  “Do you really like it?” he asked.

  “It’s perfect,” she said. “It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. You must be so happy here.”

  He shrugged. “Lonely, you mean. Jamie lives near campus now, and I rattle around in this place all by myself. I’m thinking of selling it.”

  “Selling?” She whirled on him. “You can’t sell this place. It would be a crime to leave that beautiful garden behind. Besides, like you said, this house is a gift from your parents. Keep it. Someday you’ll meet the woman you’re going to marry, and she’ll be thrilled to have such a stunning home.”

  Ryan stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I don’t know about that. You never can tell how somebody else is going to like something.” He hesitated a moment, then asked her, �
�How do you like it?”

  “I love it. That backyard is wonderful. It sure beats the little excuse for the one that I have.” She peered past him. “Can I have a tour of the rest of the house before we go?”

  He nodded and motioned toward the door that led into the kitchen. “Come on and I’ll show you around. Then I think we’d better get down to Beale Street.”

  An hour later, as Jessica drove toward downtown, she still couldn’t get Ryan’s house off her mind. He hadn’t mentioned the grandeur of the place since they’d been working together for the past few days, and she wondered why. Maybe he was embarrassed and felt the house was too expensive for a police officer to live in. But from what he’d said, his father’s estate had paid for the house, and Ryan’s salary, along with money left by his parents, proved adequate for the upkeep. She hoped he wouldn’t sell it, but that was his decision. Not hers.

  She pulled into a parking lot near Beale Street and found a spot right away. Even though it was still early, the streets were already crowded with laughing and jostling partygoers intent on having a good time. Finding Kenny Macey in this throng might not be as easy as she had at first thought.

  “Ready to go?” Ryan asked as he opened the passenger side door.

  “I am,” she answered and climbed out.

  They walked to the middle of the street that the Memphis PD had blocked off so that visitors to the historic district could mingle along the sidewalks and the street between as they roamed the bars, restaurants and entertainment establishments along the famous strip and joined those already having a good time. Ahead she saw a cheering audience clapping and tossing money toward an acrobatic group whose skills seemed to defy gravity.

  Ryan and Jessica walked past the performers and strolled on toward the sounds of the blues that wafted from the bars along the street. She kept her attention on the revelers, scanning them as she walked past. She thought of the description of Kenny Macey that Tommie Oakes had given them. “What do you think Tommie meant by ‘crazy clothes and an eyeglass’?” she asked Ryan.