"But the press wasn't very flattering."
"No, but it got my name out there." She smiled. "Suzi Wang called me personally and offered me a modeling job when the story hit the tabloids. I wouldn't be modeling again if it wasn't for Monty and my affair with him."
"That's a bit shallow, isn't it? You say you loved him."
"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."
Later, in the SUV, Jasi replayed their conversation on the data-com. The woman had been brutally honest, and if her alibi checked out, Jasi could cross Karen off the suspect list.
"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."
Karen Hampton was right. Sometimes you had to take the bad and turn it into good. Jasi's bad had hit rock bottom with the violent murder of her mother. Now she was a CFBI agent with an uncontrollable urge to save the innocent and put away the bad guys.
As she drove back to the Embassy Hotel, she thought of the current case. Would a killer strike again? Or would they catch him first?
22
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
~ Ottawa, ON
Twelve days passed with no breaks in either the Winkler or Sampson case. Karen Hampton's alibi checked out, along with an alibi and background check on Marilyn and James. No new clues or evidence were available. The investigation was at a standstill.
A media frenzy had begun to wreak havoc in Ottawa and across Canada. The press had caught wind that two Members of Parliament had been drugged and abducted, resulting in one case of partial amnesia and one violent death. Everyone was screaming for justice, with pressure coming from all angles, from relatives and friends of the deceased, Parliament and even the Prime Minister.
Jasi welcomed the pressure. It kept her too busy to think about Zane. He'd left messages at the front desk, but she refused to answer them. She'd seen him in the Embassy Hotel's foyer before he left for New York. He walked away as soon as he saw Ben and Natassia. Neither had noticed him.
She spent time chatting with Natassia, getting to know her, as Matthew had insisted. Your partner or partners will be your best friends.
Jasi didn't do so well in the friend category.
"So…" Natassia said that morning. "How'd you find out about the PSI Division?"
"I didn't. They found me."
She told Natassia how she'd left home at eighteen and taken a job as a researcher for a high-powered lawyer.
"One night someone set fire to the office. There was one casualty, my boss. He was working late."
Natassia's finely shaped brow arched. "Alone?"
Jasi nodded. "The CFBI was called in, but after nearly a week they had no leads. Until I walked into the building to pick up some files."
"What happened?"
"The smoke overwhelmed me."
"No one showed you how to protect yourself?"
"No, not back then. I was still trying to hide what I could do. You know, pretend to be normal."
"What about your parents? Didn't they try to help you?"
Jasi laughed derisively. "My father prefers to stay in denial over what I can do. He's never seen what it does to me."
"And your mom?"
"She died when I was young."
The words were automatic, as was the small twinge in her heart that always came with them.
"Before my gift surfaced," she added.
"Sorry," Natassia murmured. "It must've been tough."
"It was." Jasi shrugged. "But I got through it."
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, the proverbial elephant. Until Natassia made it vanish.
"So what happened when you went to get the files?"
"I passed out. A judge found me, half-unconscious, on the floor in the hallway. Apparently I told him that my boss's business associate had set the fire to cover up his involvement in defrauding the company."
"They caught him?"
"In the act of transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars to an offshore account."
"Case closed," Natassia said with a grin.
"Yup. He was carted off to prison while I was rushed to the hospital. When I woke up the first person I saw was an older man with long gray hair tied in a ponytail."
"Matthew Divine."
Jasi nodded. "He was wearing faded jeans and a blue suit jacket. I remember thinking it was an odd mix for an old guy." She chuckled. "Then I saw the guy standing beside him. Ben. He was wearing a custom-fitted suit that made him look unbelievably tall."
Natassia made a soft growling noise. "And more handsome, I bet."
"Hey, who's telling the story here?"
"So what happened next?" Natassia asked.
"Matthew said they had a proposition for me. They wanted to train me, show me how to use my gift and take control of it."
"Et voila! Here you are. "
"I couldn't turn him down. Or Ben."
"I don't think I could've turned Ben down either."
Jasi smiled faintly, recalling the rush of emotion she'd felt the first time she was welcomed by everyone at Divine Ops. It had been the first time in her life that she felt completely accepted for who she was and what she could do. No one else understood her the way her PSI family did.
Not even Zane.
His face came to mind and she wanted to smack it.
"Yes, they were both very persuasive," she said, pushing Zane to the background. "And now I get to use my gift to help others. Like Monty Winkler and Porter Sampson."
Natassia touched her arm. "We're going to get this guy."
"I sure hope so."
With her mind on Winkler and Sampson, Jasi felt more in control. Something had happened to these two men and she was going to find out what. So far, the investigation had hit a brick wall, but she was determined to dismantle it, one brick at a time if she had to.
She peeked at Natassia from under her lashes. Her new partner was developing a crush on Ben.
I wonder if Ben knows.
Ben wasn't always the most observant when it came to matters of the heart. He'd built up his own wall, allowing only a few people in. He often came across as curt, unfriendly and unappreciative.
"By the way, Natassia, I think you're an asset to this team and the case. I'm glad you're working it with us."
Natassia's eyes widened. "Thank you."
"I'll be back in a minute. I need to talk to Ben."
She left Natassia in their room. In the hallway, she saw Ben leaving his room.
"I was just coming to see you. Where are you off to?"
"Porter Sampson's house," he said. "He's been having some weird dreams."
"Does he think they're connected to his abduction?"
"He's not sure. But he's had the same dream for the last week."
"He could be having flashbacks. I'll come with you."
"What about Natassia?"
"She has some reports to go over."
"Did she miss something?"
She shrugged. "You know how it is, Ben. Nothing is cut and dry in what she sees. She has to decipher her visions like we do, and I'm sure she's very good at what she does."
"I guess we'll see about that, won't we? I just hope she doesn't mess up one of the clues."
As they drove to Porter Sampson's house, Jasi thought about Ben's behavior toward their new partner. He'd been acting kind of odd for the past day, avoiding Natassia whenever possible. He wasn't usually this hard on a fellow agent, particularly a PSI.
We've both misinterpreted visions before, Ben.
She thought about her last assignment―a corporate espionage and fraud case. Someone had not only stolen project files from a leading computer game company in Edmonton, he or she had also embezzled millions of dollars after hacking into payroll. By the time anyone noticed what was happening, it was too late. One of the company partners died in a bomb explosion that was programmed to explode the moment a particular file was entered, the game's weapons file.
After the explosion, Jasi was called in. When she caught the first whiff of smoke,
a vision came fast and cryptic. For weeks she was convinced that one or more of the partners were responsible, or at least the ones without alibis. She almost missed the last piece of the puzzle and two con men nearly got away in a lavish private jet destined for Fiji, a country with no extradition treaty with Canada.
In her vision, she'd seen a golden ladder with two missing steps, and it wasn't until she was interrogating the five partners that she realized the ladder represented someone who hadn't climbed the ladder of success. She discovered that two brilliant techs had been voted out of the partnership three months earlier and were subsequently let go from the company because their ideals were so different from the partners. Still, everyone else in the company was under the misguided assumption that it had been a diplomatic resolution. Until the fire, they had no idea that some people hold grudges far longer than is healthy. And that can prove to be deadly.
"I hope we catch a break soon," Ben said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Me too." She hesitated, not knowing how to broach the subject of Natassia. "Ben, I…uh…"
"What?"
She took the plunge. "Natassia is a hard worker and very dedicated. I really like her."
Ben gaped at her. "You like her?"
"Yes," she said, lifting her chin.
He laughed. "Why Jasmine McLellan, I do believe you have a new friend."
She swatted his arm, hard. "Shut up. I mean that she's nice and I―"
"Like her. Okay, I get it. I'm being too hard on her."
She grinned. "You said it."
Ben sighed. "Fine. I'll try to be…uh, nicer."
"You do that."
"So," he said, "any thoughts on this case?"
"Yeah. I've never felt this useless before."
"You're anything but useless, Jasi." He tugged on her ponytail. "Except when it comes to cooking."
"Hey! Leave my cooking alone or I'll never invite you over for dinner again."
He grinned. "Promise?"
When they reached the Sampson residence, Jasi noticed that the driveway and sidewalks were vacant. Porter Sampson was old news now, especially since he couldn't recall what had happened to him. The media had gone on to more important stories, like the masked corner store bandit who had made off with a few hundred dollars. He'd left the scene on a silver ten-speed and was caught four blocks away, pedaling merrily down an alley. He probably would have gotten away unnoticed if he'd removed the mask.
With Ben two steps behind, Jasi strode to the door and gave it three sharp raps. No answer.
She glanced at Ben. "You sure he's home?"
"Hey, he called me. He should be expecting us."
Ben reached around her and rang the doorbell. Twice.
A few minutes later, Porter Sampson's face appeared. He glanced behind them, as if expecting an entourage.
"CFBI, Mr. Sampson," Jasi said, flashing her badge.
"Yeah?" He flashed them a confused look.
She frowned. "You expecting someone else?"
"Uh, no…I don't think so."
The man opened the door just wide enough for them to pass inside and Jasi took in his sunken eyes and haggard face. From the look of his wrinkled clothes and coffee-stained shirt, Porter Sampson hadn't slept or showered in a couple of days.
"What can I do for you?" Sampson asked, wiping his forehead with the back of a trembling hand.
She exchanged baffled looks with her partner.
"You called us," Ben said calmly. "You're having some strange dreams. That's what you told me."
"Oh. Right."
As they followed him into the living room, Jasi leaned close to Ben. "He seems a bit out of it."
"Maybe he just woke up."
She sat down on the sofa and placed her data-com on the coffee table. "Voice record on." To Sampson, she said, "Are you feeling okay?"
"I can't sleep," the man muttered, sitting across from her. "Whenever I close my eyes, I feel nauseous and dizzy. And I keep having the same blasted dream, over and over again."
"Have you seen a doctor?"
"Yes, and little good that did. He gave me some pills to take before bed. They don't do anything except make my mouth dry." He rubbed his eyes. "I saw my therapist yesterday. He gave me some relaxation exercises to do, but that seemed to make things worse. I think I got maybe two hours of sleep last night. And not much more the night before."
"You need sleep, Mr. Sampson," Jasi said, concerned.
"I know that," the man grumbled.
"Is your wife home?" Ben asked.
Sampson shook his head. "She went to her book club meeting. Do you need to talk to her too?"
"Maybe later," Jasi said. "Tell us about your dream."
"There's not much to tell. In between feeling sick and dizzy, I get these glimpses of something shiny, so shiny I have to look away. Then I feel cold, really cold."
"What else?" Jasi pressed.
"That's it. I wake up."
"What about sounds? Do you hear anything, or anyone?"
Sampson closed his eyes. "No, no voices, but I did hear music. Classical. Maybe Bach or Beethoven, I'm not sure. And I heard someone humming."
"Do you see anything else in your dream?" Ben asked.
"No, that's it." Sampson leaned forward, holding his head and rocking slowly. "Except this overwhelming feeling that I have to do something." His gaze latched onto Jasi. "I can't―"
The phone rang.
"I know there's something I've forgotten," Sampson muttered, more to himself. "Something important."
"You wanna get that?" Ben asked when the phone rang again.
Sampson shook his head.
The fact that he ignored the phone call made Jasi take notice. There was something familiar about this scenario.
The phone went silent after the second ring, so she consulted her notes. "Where were we?"
"I think I was saying I―"
The phone rang again.
Sampson jumped to his feet and abruptly left the room.
Jasi raised a brow. "Okay…"
Ben shrugged. "He's exhausted."
When Sampson returned minutes later, he seemed preoccupied. "I'm sorry but I have nothing more to add." He beamed them a bright smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some papers to sign."
"Certainly," Jasi said, moving toward the door. "If you recall anything else, please call us."
She handed the man a card. It had two 'throwaway' phone numbers on it that were temporarily transferred to either her data-com or Ben's.
"Have a good day," Sampson said in a cheerful voice.
She watched him from the corner of her eye. The man had gone from weary to cheery in minutes.
What the hell?
As Ben backed the SUV out of the driveway, Jasi chewed her bottom lip. "Well, that was strange."
"You noticed it too?"
"Yeah. One moment he looked like he needed a nap―"
"The next, he looked like he'd been told he'd won the lottery."
"I know. What the hell happened?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." The words were barely out of his mouth when his data-com beeped.
Matthew's voice crackled through the speaker. "Any leads with Sampson?"
"We think he's having some kind of flashback," she answered. "In his dreams."
"Stay on him. He's the strongest lead we've got."
"Will do."
"Stay safe," Matthew said before disconnecting.
Ben glanced at her. "What do you make of all this?"
Another test.
"I think we'll discover the phone call Sampson just got came from a payphone near Parliament Hill. And I think someone is either blackmailing or threatening him."
Ben's head bobbed in agreement. "I think you might be on to something. What now?"
She chuckled. "Well, since you made fun of my cooking earlier and since I said I'd make you pay, you're going to buy Natassia and me the best dinner Ottawa has to offer."
Alone in her hotel r
oom that evening, Jasi carried out her evening ritual of Pilates stretches on her bed, then sat cross-legged, eyes closed, breathing deeply.
In…out.
She kept her mind clear. No stress, no worries.
Fifteen minutes later, she felt calm. Tonight, she'd sleep.
She reached up and carefully disengaged the tight elastic band from her hair. Freed from confinement, wayward curls and waves bounced past her shoulders. She massaged her scalp and released a long sigh. For a moment she wished that it was someone else's strong, tanned fingers running through her hair.
The phone rang.
There was only one person who would call her on the hotel phone―Zane―and she had no desire to talk to him.
Against her will, her eyes were drawn to the phone. The message light flashed. She grabbed the phone, sucked in a breath and dialed the code for message retrieval.
"You have five messages," announced an automated male voice. "After you have listened to each message, please press 1 to save. To delete, press 2. To upload messages to your cell phone or data-com, enter your phone number followed by your room number."
She was tempted to delete all five messages, but she was curious so she stayed on the line.
"Hi, love. It's Zane. I was hoping we could talk. About last night. Call me tonight." He left his cell phone number.
Jasi pressed 2.
"Hey, it's me again." Zane sounded breathless. "I need to talk to you before I leave for New York."
Delete.
She quickly deleted the next two identical messages, but the fifth message made her pulse skip a beat.
"Come on, Jasmine, love. We can't leave things like this. I was hoping that I meant more to you than a one night stand. It did to me."
There was a long pause and she thought that was the end of the message, but then he said, "I know I messed things up last time, but seeing you again―being with you again―made me realize that I don't want to be without you. I need you, Jasmine. I'll be back soon."
Zane's voice was soft and tender, and his words singed her, burning into her heart. The only thing missing in her life was someone to share it with.
Someone to love.
She saved his message, then wandered to the fridge.
Divine Justice Page 17