Smirking, Ollie laughed and said, “Nice to have you in our group.”
Jed paused and looked closer at Ollie, his eyes narrowing. Then he straightened and smiled and looked over at me. “It is a pleasure, I’m sure,” he said, making me blush.
“Ok,” Ollie said, reaching into his backpack for a pen. Changing the subject he said, “Let’s get going. I already have a list of questions started.”
“Why does that not surprise me?” Charlotte said laughing.
“I think if we start with a tour of the mayor’s office, we can start interviewing the people who work for him, and then lastly the Mayor,” Ollie suggested.
“Sounds good to me, let’s go,” I said, starting up the steps. I was in a hurry to put some distance between me and Jed.
Chapter 3
Walking into the lobby, the receptionist greeted us. “Good morning, welcome to the Mayor’s office. Please feel free to walk around, take pictures, and I will try to answer any questions you may have. Mayor Greenly is on a conference call, but will be done shortly.”
“Thank you,” I said walking around the lobby looking at the framed news paper articles as well as the Mayor’s impressive graduation certificates that lined the back wall.
The office was decorated in a chic, modern décor that looked like it cost a fortune. Hopefully, the Mayor footed the bill, and not the taxpayers.
We all agreed to wander around for fifteen minutes, and then meet in the lounge, to compare notes. The receptionist had given us directions.
Even though I was not standing next to Jed, I could still feel his presence, just being in the same room as him. He radiated a confidence and maturity that made every other guy seem younger. Even Kent, if I was being honest. The prickly feeling of awareness inside my stomach was not something I had ever experienced before and it was a bit disconcerting.
Writing down some information about the Mayor’s academic career, some simple history of the building, and the Mayor’s electoral race, I decided to go sit in the lounge and wait for the others. I needed a chance to clear my head and focus on something other than Jed.
Heading down the hall, I was unprepared to be shoved into the wall when a man wearing a dark suit and sunglasses came barreling towards me and literally pushed me out of his way. I gasp as pain radiated through my shoulder and down my arm making it numb and tingly. It was more that shock of being pushed out of the way that surprised me, than banging into the wall. I wasn’t really hurt, it was more of a twinge like hitting my funny bone.
He was out the door before I could get a good look at his face, but I managed to see what he was wearing.
“Are you ok?” Jed asked quickly coming toward me. Glancing at the shutting door, I could tell he was torn between making sure I was ok and going after the man.
His eyes had turned even darker, if that was possible. Angry looking. Swallowing hard, I couldn’t bring myself to look away from his face.
Wanting to calm him, I placed a hand on his arm, “I’m fine, don’t worry about it. Let’s just go sit in the lounge and wait for everyone else.”
Looking down at my hand on his arm then back up to my face, he held my eyes for what seemed to be forever. In reality, it was only a couple seconds.
He nodded slowly and then took a step towards me, not breaking eye contact.
“Nora,” he began.
Immediately, I dropped my hand and moved away. I wasn’t sure what just happened between us, but I wasn’t ready for it. Not to mention that it wasn’t proper for me to be touching him, even his arm, when I hardly knew him. Maybe if I pretend it didn’t happen...
Walking into the lounge, I stopped. It was beautiful. It was floor to ceiling glass on two sides, which looked out onto a private courtyard. This was great. I could get used to this. My heart still pounding and not just from being pushed into the wall, I looked around desperately for something to focus on. Flowers. A fountain. A rock. Flowers. Fountain. Oh look, a bench. What else...
Nope. Didn’t work, the feelings are still here.
Glancing at Jed, I could see similar thoughts in his face. He looked just as puzzled as I was sure I did.
Luckily, the other three members of our group walked in at that moment.
“Oh! How beautiful!” Charlotte exclaimed walking over to the windows. “Let’s go sit outside and compare notes.”
Everyone agreed, so we all went out the door off the side and sat under a big maple tree near the center of the courtyard
Jed took a minute to clear his head before following everyone else. Ever since climbing up the bus steps and witnessing Nora’s rejection and seeing the forlorn expression on her beautiful face, he had been drawn to her. For some reason, of which he had no idea, he felt connected to her in some way. He was man enough to admit that it shook him. He knew she had felt it in the hall a minute ago too. He needed to stay focused on why he was here and remember the job he had to do. It left no room for getting to know a pretty girl. Especially one who was part of his job.
Comparing notes took about twenty minutes. Ollie and Charlotte had the most to contribute. Jed was quiet, his gaze bouncing from one person to the next as if trying to figure them out.
Standing up, I headed around the huge tree we had been sitting under. I needed a little break and a moment to myself.
Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Three men were in a room on the other side of the courtyard. It looked like they were arguing. One was a teenager, short, slender, almost too skinny. The other two looked big and mean. They stood towering over the thin one and appeared to be threatening him. From the look on his face, I could tell that he was terrified. In fact, one of them was dressed just like the man who had knocked into me. I was almost positive it was the same guy.
Turning back quickly, I ran back to tell everyone what I had seen. “I don’t think they saw me, or were even looking out the window.”
Jumping up, Jed said, “Everyone stay here, I am going to go get a closer look.” Silently, we watched as he crept up to the tree and went around it, blending in to the foliage. It was obviously not his first time sneaking around.
A few minutes later he snuck back towards us. “I wish I could hear what’s going on. It looks like things are heating up in there.”
Charlotte spoke up. “I noticed these boxes near every room window,” she said, pointing to the window. “I think they might be intercoms.”
“You could be right” Ollie said, “They look like they are the right size and shape. All we need to do is sneak over and push the button. As long as the line is open on the inside of the room, we should be able to hear everything they are saying.”
“All right everyone, here’s how we’re going to do this,” Jed said taking charge.
“Ollie, you’re going to sneak through those bushes along side of the building. If you start over here you should be able to make it around without them seeing you. When you get there, push the intercom button. Kent and Charlotte, I want you to go back inside and try to find that room in case things turn ugly and we need to interrupt them. Nora and I will provide the distraction if needed.”
Kent and Jed exchanged a looked of excitement.
Rolling my eyes, I followed Jed to the big tree. Motioning everyone else to go, he stopped and grabbed my hand. Ah Oh! This wasn’t good, I thought, trying to snatch my hand back. Warm tingles started shooting up my arm where our hands met. What is he trying to do?
Tightening the grip on my hand, Jed looked down at me exasperated. “Would you relax! We need to look like we’re together and not paying any attention to them. I figured this was the easiest way,” he said holding up our hands.
“What way?” I hissed, starting to get nervous. He was going to have to spell it out for me.
Leaning close and whispering in my ear, “Two people in love, out for a private stroll.” I felt his conceited grin all the way to my toes, as he squeezed my hand for emphasis.
Great. My heart was really pounding now.
Hurry up, I thought, watching Ollie crawling through the bushes. It was only a few feet to go.
“Here we go,” Jed whispered, pulling me out from around the tree and slowly starting down the path gazing intently at me, like he was enthralled. I had to keep reminding myself that it was only pretend.
Ollie reached up and pushed the button. Immediately we could hear voices coming from inside the room.
“Please, I won’t tell anyone… Don’t hurt me, I just need the money,” the boy said shakily, on the verge of panicking.
Speechless, I started forward, staring at them, until Jed whipped me around and pushed me up against a light post, his big imposing body blocking my few. Leaning down with his face next to my neck, he whispered, “Relax, they aren’t supposed to know we can hear them.”
Right, I thought, how can I relax with him looming over me?
“Let’s teach him a lesson not to mess with us,” a hard cold voice demanded.
Sounds of scuffling and flesh hitting flesh came over the intercom, followed by a low moan.
Gasping, I pushed on Jed’s chest and said, “They’re beating him up!” Jed was already turning to the window. Striding over he banged his large fist on it and yelled.
Startled, the three looked up and saw us standing there. The two men grabbed the boy and bolted for the door.
Jed spun around and was running through the closest door before I had a chance to catch my breath. I could hear Jed shouting to Kent and Kent answering, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
When I turned the corner, Jed and Kent were already yanking open one door after another looking for the room. There were a couple conference rooms on this side of the building facing the courtyard.
Charlotte and I were close on their heels. Realizing Ollie wasn’t with us; I looked back but didn’t see him behind me.
He must have come in a different door, I thought, my heart pounding so hard I couldn’t think straight.
The sound of Jed yelling, “Search every room,” made me forget about Ollie. Charlotte and I opened the next closest door. Peering in, I saw it was empty. Reaching for the next door handle, I heard Kent yell, “I found it.”
I turned around and headed towards his voice. Looking in the door, you could see several chairs knocked over and books scattered on the floor. It was definitely the right room.
“Did you stop them?” Ollie asked from the doorway.
“No, the room was empty when we got here,” Kent answered.
“It was my fault,” Jed said apologetically, “I shouldn’t have scared them off.”
“You stopped them from beating him up. What you did was quick thinking. There wasn’t anything else you could have done,” I said, defensively.
“What happened?” Charlotte asked.
Excitement and adrenaline pumped through me so fast, it was harder than I expected to relate what we had just seen and heard.
“Did you get a good look at any of them?” Kent asked frustrated, running his hand through his hair.
“I only saw a glimpse of them, mostly just an impression of size and shape,” I said disappointingly. I really wanted to be able to impress everyone, ok, mostly Jed, with how observant I was. Instead, much to my embarrassment, all I could recount would be the impressive width of Jed’s shoulders and his well-muscled chest. Since I didn’t think anyone, especially my brother Kent, would be impressed by that, I didn’t mention it.
“Ollie was really the only one in position to see them,” Jed replied. Turning to Ollie, who was white as a ghost, he lifted one eyebrow in inquiry.
Without taking his eyes off the floor, Ollie said shaking his head, “I didn’t see them either.” Ollie wasn’t sure, but he thought the boy looked like someone from the science club. He had been talking about making some extra money doing something illegal. Ollie didn’t want to rat out his friend, and he hadn’t gotten a good look to be sure.
Jed, clearly skeptical, took a step toward Ollie. Realizing that Jed was angry and Ollie was obviously already frightened, I quickly grabbed Jed’s arm and asked, “Shouldn’t we look around for clues?
Shooting me a grateful look, Ollie quickly agreed and started looking around.
Looking up at Jed, I could tell he wasn’t happy that I interfered, but he let it go.
Turning, I looked around the room more slowly, looking for something, what exactly, I wasn’t sure. I started around the large oval shaped conference desk and headed to the wall of windows that overlooked the courtyard. The room was sparsely furnished, with a table that sat twelve, with some books in the middle that probably went with the ones scattered on the floor, a small sink with a coffee pot sitting next to it, and a large filing cabinet.
Spotting a piece of paper laying on the ground near the back filing cabinet, I went over and picked it up.
On one side, it had a symbol printed in dark green ink. It looked like the outline of an open book, with the capital letter P on one side and the capital letter H on the other. Something about the symbol tugged at my mind. It looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t place it. If it was something I had seen before, it wasn’t quite the same.
Turning the paper over, there was a message scrawled across the top in sloppy handwriting. It looked like it said Room 35 10:00 Friday. There was another word, but I couldn’t make it out. And I thought Kent had bad handwriting. This made his look legible.
“I think this could be a clue,” I said holding up the paper and waving it excitedly.
“Let’s see it Nancy Drew,” Jed said teasingly from over by the sink. Holding out his hand, he quickly came around the table and took it from me.
Everyone gathered around as Jed laid the paper on the table to examine it.
Kent leaned over his shoulder and peered closely at it. “That symbol looks familiar, but I can’t place it.”
“I know what you mean. When I first saw it, I felt like I should know what it is. Turn it over; it has a time and place written on it. I think whoever dropped it, was one of the people in this room. The time is about right, and it is Friday. What room number is this?”
Quickly stepping through the doorway to glance at the number plate besides the door, Charlotte announced, “Room 35, like it says on the note.”
“We must have interrupted their meeting,” Kent said.
“I agree, this symbol has to do with the meeting somehow. The question is what did those men want from that kid, and why,” Jed said. “Why don’t I hang on to it? Maybe Kent or Nora will remember where you’ve seen it before. There’s not much else we can do here. We better get back to our project,” he said moving towards the door. “I’ll go report what happened to the police, if the rest of you want to get started on the project.”
Leaving everything exactly as we found it, we all left the room. If we wanted to take advantage of our time here to research our paper, we needed to get going on it.
We were all silent as we filed down the hall towards the main lobby. Watching someone get beat up and disappear still seemed surreal. As we walked straight through the double doors towards the lobby, Jed turned right and headed for the police station. We all turned and watched him go. I think each of us secretly wanted to go with him instead of starting our project. It was kind of a letdown after all that excitement.
Chapter 4
“Skipping school already Officer Greyson?” Fellow rookie officer Mike Parker teased.
“Very funny.”
At twenty, they were both the newest and youngest officers in the Clyde County Sheriff’s Department. They went through the academy together right out of high school, and had been on the force for just under a year. Because of their youth, the Sheriff’s department was loaning them out to the Pine Hill police department as part of an experimental undercover program. They needed officers that could pass as students and fit in at the local high school.
“Meet any cute coed’s yet?” Mike wanted to know, jealous of Jed. He was stuck at the station, helping with the investigation, unt
il he was placed in a school. Jed had been given the undercover assignment at Pine Hill High School. One student had already disappeared. “You get all the fun,” he complained.
Right away Jed thought of Nora. Of her crestfallen face on the bus, her annoyed look when he caught her staring at him, and the look she gave him in the courtyard when he got close to her. Mentally shaking his head, he tried to get his mind focused on something else, something that wouldn’t get him in trouble with his department.
“Get your head out of the gutter,” Jed teased. “And, keep your voice down while you’re at it. I don’t want anyone else from class overhearing.”
“Why couldn’t I have been assigned with the Police station group instead of the Mayor’s group,” Jed grumbled good-naturedly. “That way I could have let it slip about the time you shrunk your new uniform pants, and had to ride around with one pant leg a few inches shorter that the other and be careful not to bend over to far for fear of ripping a hole in your...”
“Come on now, that was an accident,” Mike said sheepishly, turning a bright shade of red.
“I mean, come on, who manages to shrink only one leg of their pants?”
Shrugging, Mike said laughing, “Yeah, Sarge wasn’t too happy with me that time.”
Turning serious, Jed pulled the piece of paper with the symbol out of his pocket.
“Is the Lieutenant in?” he asked.
“He’s in a meeting with the Mayor. What’s going on?”
Quickly Jed filled him in on what had happened and gave him the room number. He said, “Fill the Lieutenant in, and tell him I’ll be back in after school.”
“Sure, we’ll check this out.”
“Thanks.”
“Now get back to your group, before you get detention,” Mike said, laughing.
“Ha, Ha very funny,” Jed said walking out the door.
Luckily, Ollie had done a lot of preparation for the interview. He had compiled a list of questions regarding the building, its history, the staff working with the Mayor, and finally questions for the Mayor about his job responsibilities and his background.
Undercover Justice Page 3