Greyson

by Dale Mayer

  Jessica loved that about them. They were patient and very kind. Just like Greyson. She smiled and said, “It’s easy to see you’ve had a strong influence on Greyson too,” she said. “I understand you raised him.”

  “From the time he was eight,” she said. “Our son was killed in a car accident, along with his wife. We took Greyson in at that point and are so grateful we did. He’s been a huge blessing in our lives.”

  “Except for when I wasn’t,” he said, and he shot her a meaningful look.

  Jessica smiled, nodding. “Greyson told me about distancing himself from you after his injuries. I understand that because I did much the same thing too with my family, leading up to my divorce.”

  Grandma cried out, saying, “Why would you do that? I understand it’s your right.” She looked hesitantly over at Greyson and Grandpa, then continued, “We are the people who are here for you,” she said, “the ones who are more than capable of helping you through that scenario. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t let us help.”

  Jessica understood that Grandma was talking about Greyson as well as herself. “In my case, I didn’t see my mother as an asset,” she said slowly. “And, even now, she’s been pushing me to go back to my ex-husband.”

  Both of Greyson’s grandparents stared at her in surprise.

  She nodded. “I know. She’s just always seemed to think that I couldn’t do it on my own and that I needed a man around.”

  “But there’s a difference between having a man you want versus having a man you’re stuck with,” Grandma said delicately.

  At that, Jessica had to laugh. “Isn’t that the truth,” she said, and the two women exchanged a warm understanding.

  She looked over at Danny to see him still completely enthralled with the big bone he was working away on. It was smooth sided and apparently had just the right feel for his gums because he had a look of concentration on his face.

  “Mark my words,” Grandpa said. “You’ll see teeth tomorrow.”

  She smiled and said, “Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, after all.” She reached for another rib herself, amazed to see the platter down as much as it was already. “Okay,” she said, “I guess we didn’t have food for six, just four very hungry people.”

  “And we don’t skimp on ribs around here,” Grandpa said. “It’s my favorite meal ever.”

  “Lucky you,” she said. “I don’t remember the last time I had them,” she admitted.

  “It’s not a whole lot of fun to cook for just one,” Grandma said. “That’s why we’re so delighted you could come and visit. It’s just nicer to share something like that.”

  “Thank you for inviting me,” she said. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about your grandson and me though.”

  “Not at all,” Grandma said.

  But that twinkle in her eye had Jessica rolling hers. She looked over at Greyson and shrugged. “I tried.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “They’ll find out the truth soon enough.”

  “We already know,” Grandpa said, and a matching twinkle was in his eyes. “You two have that special something, and we’re really happy for you both.”

  The two stared at each other in surprise, then looked at each of the grandparents, but there wasn’t a whole lot anybody could say. The grandparents were convinced.

  And Jessica was half convinced herself.

  It was a wonderful visit with his grandparents; they had cleaned everything up and had spent another couple hours outside. Greyson had a second beer, happy that tonight he didn’t have to drive, though, considering his size, he’d be totally okay with a couple beers anyway, what with the tons of food and the hours between each beer. By the time Danny was looking more than sleepy and ready to go home, all of them still full from dinner, Greyson and Jessica said good night and got into the car.

  “Are you okay to drive?” Greyson asked.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Just a little tired, but that’s okay.” As they drove home, she said warmly, “Your grandparents are wonderful.”

  “They are pretty special,” he said. “I think, in a way, I was a little angry with them for moving over here, maybe because it seemed like they were moving away from me. But now, of course, I’m in a position to move here too. So maybe things have to happen the way they’re meant to be.”

  “I think so,” she said. “Besides, if you hadn’t come to see them, I wouldn’t have met you. You’d probably be somewhere else, looking for some other dog.”

  “True enough,” he said. He looked to see Kona had crashed on the back seat. “Speaking of dogs, she was really good tonight.”

  “Honestly, nobody would know by looking at her or her behavior that she was anything other than a great family pet,” she said. “And, if you take her away, I think I’ll really miss her.”

  “I thought you weren’t much of a dog person.”

  “Only because I haven’t had much experience with dogs,” she corrected. “And that’s a very different story.”

  “It is, isn’t it?” When they drove up to the house, he got right out, clicked the leash on Kona, and said, “Just sit here for a moment, will you?”

  She looked at him and frowned.

  He gave her a lopsided grin. “I just want to take a look outside to make sure everything is okay.”

  Understanding crossed her face. “I suppose you want me to lock the car doors then, right?”

  “Absolutely,” he said, and, with that, he and Kona took off.

  She watched him go around the garage and into the backyard. When she saw him again, he was opening the front door and motioning for her to come in. After parking the car, she got out, unbuckled the car seat, and moving gently, carried a sleeping Danny inside the house. “I gather all is well?”

  “No,” he said, his voice hard. “It’s not, but I don’t want to leave you in the car any longer. I’m taking you up to your room, and I’ll leave you in there while I make some phone calls.” He didn’t give her a chance to take off her shoes or drop her bag; he just ushered her and Danny straight upstairs. Kona was with him in the bedroom as he did a quick but very thorough search under the bed, in the closets, etc. “Stay in here, please. I’ll explain as soon as I can.” He put Kona at the doorway, firmly saying, “Guard.” Immediately Kona’s whole demeanor changed, and she looked like she was suddenly on duty.

  Jessica looked at Greyson, looked at Kona, then said, “You’re scaring me.”

  “And you need to be scared,” he said, “but please stay here for the moment. I’ll be right back.”

  Taking a very slow, deep breath, absolutely panicked at what possibly could have gone wrong, she sat down on the bed, next to Danny. Once Greyson was assured that she was fine and wouldn’t come undone, he took off.

  Chapter 17

  Jessica sat on the bed for a long moment, scared to take anything off or to get too comfortable, just in case they had to bolt, make a run for safety. Finally she heard him coming back up the stairs two at a time. She waited for him, fear evident in her eyes. “And?”

  “The house is empty,” he said, “but it wasn’t earlier. Lights were on that shouldn’t have been on, and I left a little trap in the glass doors to see if anybody came in that way,” he said. “And somebody did.”

  “The glass doors,” she said. “Weren’t they locked?”

  “They were,” he said, “and the lock is now broken.”

  She sagged against the headboard and just stared at him, wordless.

  “But I’ve tied it together for tonight. Tomorrow I’ll fix it with a new dead bolt.” He smiled, walked over, bent down, and dropped a kiss on her temple and on Danny’s as well. “I’ve made some calls,” he said. “I’ll check the security camera from your neighbor’s systems to see if we know who and what.”

  “You can tap into their security cameras?”

  Greyson smiled at her. “I can. If he has them turned on, then we might find something.”

  “Can you do
that hacking up here?”

  “Yes. I can do my hacking up here.”

  She watched as he raced downstairs to get his laptop, and, when he returned, he sat in the small chair she kept in her room, put his feet up on the bed, and proceeded to check out the laptop. When he made an odd sound, she got up off the bed, still wearing her jeans and T-shirt and shoes, and took a look.

  “That’s Jensen,” she said, her voice faint, as she watched the man in the camera slide through her neighbor’s backyard, heading to hers. “Oh, my God, it really is him.”

  Greyson nodded. “That’s what I was afraid of. On the other hand, now that we know, we have ammunition.”

  “No,” she said. “This is just terrible.”

  “Why is that?”

  She didn’t really know what to say. “It just seems so far-fetched,” she said. “Impossible.”

  “Nope,” he said. “I’ve hacked into your home security too. Here is the evidence for you.”

  There were several other pictures, as Jensen went through all the downstairs of her house.

  “How did you know about the security system here?” she asked him.

  “I saw the cameras.”

  She frowned. She was still frowning as she viewed the camera feed on Greyson’s laptop. Upstairs, there wasn’t a camera into Danny’s room or the two bathrooms, but there was one in the master bedroom and one in the hallway. Jensen was in Danny’s room for way too long, and, when he came out, he had a little T-shirt in his hand that he stuffed into his pocket. She gasped at the sense of invasion.

  “Oh, my God,” she whispered. “He was in Danny’s room and took a shirt. Did you see that?” Next he went into her room, went straight to the dresser, and pulled out a pair of underwear, stuffed it in his pocket, and left. She shook her head. “I can’t believe it,” she muttered. “What on earth is he doing?”

  “I’m sending this video to Badger and the cops,” he said. “With any luck, we should get Jensen picked up in no time.”

  “That would be lovely,” she said, “but I highly doubt it. Does this also mean that Jensen is working with Frank?”

  “Well, somebody is,” he said. “But let’s not assume we know all the players just yet.”

  When Greyson’s phone rang, it was the cops.

  “Okay, we have the video,” the detective said. “We’ve sent out a cruiser to pick him up. We have one vehicle registered in his name, so a BOLO has gone out on that.”

  “Good. He’s already broken into and trespassed into Jessica’s house,” Greyson said, “so we can’t trust that he’s not coming back. And we don’t know who all we’re dealing with here.”

  “No, we don’t,” he said. “I can do drive-bys every fifteen minutes,” he said. “But, if you’re there, you know yourself that he’ll just wait until the police cars are gone, and he’ll even time them.”

  “I know, and I’m on guard,” he said, “but I don’t want anything to happen to this woman or her child.”

  “I got it,” he said. “And, by the way, we heard from your associate and received confirmation that her husband has passed away. We have a proper and official death certificate, and we know exactly where he was buried.”

  “And do we know he actually was buried. There are a few potential motives here, including a relationship motive, that may have gone from misplaced love to misplaced hate. Plus who signed the divorce papers?”

  “Apparently George was buried, yes. There was also an obituary in the newspaper, so it appears to be a done deal.”

  “And what about a will from the lawyer?”

  “We’re still waiting to confirm that,” he said, “but that would be an interesting motive.”

  “I like it myself,” Greyson admitted.

  “Yes,” the detective said. “I hear you. We’ll follow-up on that detail in a few minutes.” And, with that, he hung up.

  Greyson looked over at Jessica. “Yes, George is deceased and buried. There was an obituary in the newspaper as well. We’re still trying to get confirmation on the will.”

  “And the date of death?”

  “Three months and four days ago,” he said.

  She got up and walked over to her night table, where she pulled out some paperwork and handed it to him. “So these are the documents that were signed. They were submitted to the judge and sent to me,” she said. “I’m not sure who signed them, but the timing doesn’t work out.”

  “Unless George signed them earlier,” he said, “but regardless I don’t believe it is valid because, when the judge signed them, George was already deceased.”

  “So what happens in a case like that?”

  “We’ll find out,” he said. His phone rang again. “Stone? What’s up?”

  “You’ve got company outside,” Stone said, his voice direct.

  “Where?”

  “Two guys, one north, one south.”

  “Got it,” he said. “I’m heading outside. I’ll take one out, please keep an eye on the other one.”

  “Keep your ears on, and keep this phone line open,” Stone replied.

  Greyson got up, looked at her, and said, “I’m leaving Kona with you. Stay in this room.”

  Looking up at him, she bit the lower part of her lip. “What’s going on?”

  “My buddy Stone’s on the satellite,” he said, holding up his phone, a call that was still live. “We have company.”

  She gasped and immediately reached out a hand to Danny.

  “Exactly,” he said. “Your job is to stay safe and to look after Danny. I’ll take one of them out, so I only have one to worry about.”

  “How can you take out just one?”

  “Because they’re on opposite sides of the house,” he said, his tone grim. He looked at her and then walked over and kissed her hard. “I’ll be back.” And, with that, he disappeared.

  He slipped out of the house and quickly blended into the shadows along the trees. His phone was on Silent, and he ended the call with Stone to send a text and immediately got a message back.

  Forty feet.

  Pocketing his phone, he slipped down, heading in the same direction he’d been traveling. He knew one of them was right here somewhere. He stopped about thirty feet in front of the alleyway. The fence was right in front of him, and he assumed the guy was on the other side. He looked over at the neighbor’s fence and then at the gate. Her gate was a little bit lower, so he could look over it, but, if he did that, he’d lose the element of surprise. He sent a second message. How close?

  Directly on the other side.

  Slipping the phone in his pocket once more, he took a silent breath, and, from a standing position, used the top of the fence to vault over. He landed on something soft that made a heavy oof sound. His hands immediately went around the guy’s neck, and Greyson hit a pressure point on the back, while the guy struggled to get up. With one right fist, Greyson took him out with a shot to the chin. With him down, but not daring to leave him alone, he quickly took off the guy’s shoes and socks. Using the shoelaces and socks, he tied up the guy’s hands and ankles, and, finding some cardboard, he jammed several bent pieces into the guy’s mouth. He was unconscious, and he’d stay like that. Greyson quickly sent a photo with a message. I’m after number two.

  Go. And fast. He’s trying to get in through the front of the garage.

  Swearing, Greyson took off to the back of the house, and coming up to the glass doors, he slipped inside and froze. He could hear sounds of footsteps, but the stairs were between him and them.

  The footsteps went up the stairs. He immediately headed up after him. As if realizing he was being pursued, the intruder raced ahead. He darted directly for the master bedroom, already knowing where it was, having been in the house earlier. But what he didn’t know was what was waiting for him. The door was open, but even Greyson couldn’t see where Jessica and Danny were. Just as the intruder bolted into the doorway of the master bedroom, Greyson called out a command.

  “Attack!”


  From a standstill at the edge of the doorway, Kona jumped. She didn’t go for the hand this time; she went for the shoulder and locked down hard, pulling the man off his feet and onto his back, screaming all the way.

  Immediately he turned with a knife in his hand and tried to stab the dog. Greyson heard a shout from Jessica, but he was already on Jensen, grabbing for the knife. Just as it was about to plunge into the dog, Greyson shifted the angle and the knife went into the man’s wrist. Blood shot out everywhere, and Jessica turned on the light and stared at the mess in horror. But the intruder wasn’t giving up. He was screaming in pain but still kicking and fighting.

  Greyson reached up, pulled the balaclava mask off his face, and commanded, “Jensen, stop it!”

  Immediately the man stopped and glared up at him. “How the hell do you know who I am?” he asked.

  “I told him,” Jessica said, standing behind Greyson. “How dare you come into my home like that and steal my son’s clothing, not to mention my underwear. You make me sick.” She stared at him like he was some kind of a bug.

  He glared at her. “You don’t know anything,” he said.

  “I know that George is dead,” she snapped, “and I know that you’ve been trying to take his place. You need to leave me alone.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone,” he said. “You were never supposed to marry him. I told him that he shouldn’t marry you, that you’d be no good for him. I told him way back when that I was supposed to marry you. He laughed at me and told me to go off into the military, that he would take care of business.”

  “Interesting,” she said. “I always wondered why he wanted to get married.”

  “To spite me,” he said. “I hated him for that. I hated him for everything.”

  “Did you do anything to kill him?” she asked.

  He shook his head and laughed. “I didn’t have to,” he said. “That aneurysm was just too damn perfect.”

  “But then you couldn’t resist meddling, could you?”

  “With him gone and the divorce papers right there, it was pretty easy to make sure that it was all clean-cut and that everything came to me, instead of you. I needed you to see me as your answer, your savior,” he said. “That’s why I had Frank stalking you, leaving your front door open, breaking the lock on your French doors, shutting off the electricity to your house. See? You need me. All I had to do was collect the last bit of my winnings, and that was you.”