Incisions

by Barbara Winkes

  He could imagine what they thought: couldn’t cut it as a cop, couldn’t even make it as a criminal. It was all Ward’s fault. He had freaked her out. If he’d managed to get Ellie Harding to the new location and then be the savior, everything would have gone according to plan. The first plan.

  Danny could see that it might have been a mistake on his part to focus solely on Harding. His new considerations were bigger and would make him look even better in the aftermath. This was his last chance at something big…and he would take it. At the same time, he could get rid of something he’d hated for so long.

  Between serving drinks and counting change, he observed the people sitting together in groups, laughing, chatting, some in serious conversation. He envied the invisible threads between them, the common goal, and the way they pulled together when a life was on the line. He was just as good as any of them.

  He would prove it.

  Soon.

  Chapter Ten

  She didn’t say it nearly often enough, but Jordan admired Ellie greatly. Maybe she’d had a head start earlier in life, with decent parents and an overall nourishing social environment, but there was no doubt she handled life’s blows differently. Her stubborn optimistic outlook intrigued Jordan to no end, even though she was torn at the moment, with Ellie naked in her arms, her kiss demanding.

  No one put an experience like that behind them so quickly—but maybe it wasn’t about that. If this was what Ellie needed, right now, Jordan was more than willing to comply.

  “I’m not fragile,” Ellie whispered, “and I want you just as much as I did last week.”

  Jordan wasn’t in a position to argue much when Ellie undid the clasp of her bra, tossing the garment aside, and her fingers slid beneath the hem of her panties.

  “Wow. Are you sure?”

  “I think this would be cruel of me if I wasn’t. Don’t think about it for a moment, please? I we were in a hotel room in Costa Rica right now, this is exactly what we’d be doing. I refuse to give him that much power. This is what I want.”

  Jordan gasped at the warm pressure of her wandering fingertips.

  “I’m pretty sure you want it too,” Ellie concluded, a smile in her voice.

  “Believe me, I do, but we’ve got time. Slow down for a bit, okay?”

  Ellie smiled. “Whatever you like. I’m all yours.”

  Sometimes, it was hard to believe, but Jordan was determined to make sure Ellie wouldn’t regret her decision, ever. She kissed her softly, lowering her body over hers, careful to avoid her bruised knees. Jordan wasn’t at all sure that this was the answer to all the open questions, but it seemed like the best available for now, and they had certainly earned this moment out of time. It was a better way to look at it than wondering if they had done something so unforgivable that bad luck would follow them from now on. She lost herself in the sensations, Ellie’s warm skin under her hands, her gasp turning into moans. It was almost too quick when she shivered against Jordan, her hands gripping the sheet in a tight grip. Then again, everything had happened quickly between them, and the U-Haul might not be too far in the future.

  Jordan sat up, trying to get her bearings, and understand what had happened the past few days—or since the day she had decided that she could no longer pretend she and Bethany could have a future together.

  Ellie embraced her from behind. “Don’t worry. You know I’m a bit strange sometimes, and I don’t expect you to understand all of it, but there’s something you should know. I wanted you long before all the bad stuff happened. Well, maybe not long, but before. I wouldn’t have slept with just anyone.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to be. That’s why I’m telling you.” Her hands skimmed over Jordan’s ribs, wandering higher to cup her breasts. “It’s not just about me though. I know that compared to what you’ve been through, I…”

  “It’s not a competition. Ellie…Would you mind if we just went to sleep? It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

  “Not a competition. I get it.” Ellie smiled, but her disappointment came through anyway. “I understand, it’s still early. It’s just that I don’t want them to take any more out of my life, out of our lives. They don’t deserve that much power, you know? Are you sure it’s just about that?”

  It had been days since Ellie escaped from her kidnapper. What else would it be? That was a can of worm better left unopened. It had been too easy to lay part of the blame on Bethany, because she kept pushing. If Jordan let too much of her past interfere with a relationship with someone she loved, it would be all her fault.

  “I want you to take the time you need to work through what happened, that’s all.”

  Ellie pulled the cover up high and lay back down. “I’m sure you hated it when someone said that to you. It’s…what it is. People are different, and it helps me more than anything that you’re not treating me like I’m about to shatter into a million pieces. I am not.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Jordan whispered, pulling her close after she’d turned off the light.

  Part of her envied Ellie for always looking ahead, and maybe she hoped that she might be able too adopt some of it someday.

  * * * *

  Jordan’s reaction had given Ellie a lot to think about that night, yet she was up early to make breakfast, trying to figure out the pieces in her mind. She hoped she had assured Jordan enough, or that this was even the strategy she needed to follow. She didn’t doubt Jordan’s commitment to her for a moment. There was no doubt they had considerable odds stacked against them.

  Ellie, however, was used to getting what she wanted, even if that included difficult and at times, painful, detours. Her career was on track, and she was with the woman she’d wanted in her life more than anything. So far, so good. She had to tread carefully though, too much had happened in a short amount of time, too many revelations.

  In spite of being determined to make it an early day, Jordan didn’t seem eager to get it started when she came out of the bedroom, her hair still wet from the shower.

  “Thank you.” She sighed. “This looks great. I’m sorry I was such a downer last night. I didn’t mean to…I’m glad you’re here.”

  Here in this place, or here as in alive and well? Ellie didn’t want to dwell on semantics right now.

  “I have no reason to complain, but I guess I owe you. Feel free to collect anytime soon.”

  Jordan couldn’t suppress the smile. “I’ll remember that.”

  “Did you sleep okay?”

  “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

  “It’s not a competition, remember?” Ellie sat down across from Jordan after she’d poured coffee for the two of them. “I’m not…panicking. I’m just mad at how all this went down, and apparently, there’s still no lead on the other guy. No message from Doss. Libby and Kate would call me too, if there was anything to go on. Speaking of which, I should probably see Kate. She was acting strange last night. I know she’s still grieving, but this was different. What do you think?”

  “I slept okay,” Jordan said too quickly.

  Ellie had seen her in the interrogation room, but the private persona of Jordan Carpenter was someone entirely different. She couldn’t lie to save her life. Okay, that was a bad metaphor, they had both done what they needed to do under most dangerous circumstances. “You know something I don’t. Is she in trouble?”

  “Not exactly, but I imagine she’s feeling bad.” Jordan hesitated for a moment. “It appears that she’s seeing Derek.”

  Ellie could feel her eyes grow wide. This was not what she’d expected. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt elated that Jordan would tell her, testimony how they’d gotten close over a short time. Well, maybe part of it was Ellie’s own interrogation tactic. She’d make a good detective, soon.

  “Wow. I mean, why? This is sudden.”

  “I told Derek my opinion. He was not amused. I’m not sure what happened there.”

  Now Kate’s
cryptic words made sense. Ellie was grateful she wouldn’t walk into her next conversation with her friend and get blindsided.

  “I guess we can’t blame them,” she offered.

  Jordan shook her head. “That’s not the same.”

  They weren’t cheating on anyone, Ellie almost said, but she held back the words, thinking this subject might be a little too complicated at the moment. She was surprised, but didn’t think Kate should beat herself up over seeking comfort and solace in being with someone, even if it didn’t last.

  “I’ll call her,” she said. “I hope that when you come back from work, you’ll bring me some good news about our phantom.”

  * * * *

  Jordan, like her colleagues, proved to be unable to fulfill Ellie’s wish—the second man in the apartment where she’d been held remained a mystery. She was equally unsuccessful trying to talk to Derek who was still avoiding her. The moment she walked up to his desk, his phone rang, and he held up a hand. Jordan stayed in the vicinity, seeing his expression turn from mildly annoyed to serious.

  Immediately, her thoughts went to Ellie. Derek hung up, hesitating for a split second.

  “I need to get this to the lieutenant right away. You might want to join me.”

  “Bad news?”

  “You could say that. We’re getting some unwanted company for the holiday. Let’s hope we can contain this before someone gets killed.”

  “That sounds bad.”

  “Because it is.” He knocked on the lieutenant’s office door, and their superior called them in where Derek detailed the tip he had gotten a tip from a CI. Apparently, someone had been asking around about explosives, and arranged a meeting with somebody who could provide them. The items on the priority list shifted again. Rumor had it there was a seller coming to town with access to alarming quantities, and the name of a wanted suspect came up: Troy Haynes who had allegedly been involved in black market explosives deals. There was concern he might be moving up in the game, associating with individuals and groups more dangerous than the occasional corrupt businessman.

  “I’ll make some calls right now,” the lieutenant said. “Let’s see what our friends from the Bureau can give us on Haynes. They’ll send someone.”

  Especially with the holiday coming, no one wanted to take the risk that the man who had made those inquiries, could succeed.

  Within the next hour, a joint task force was set up with the FBI, including Agent Russo whom they’d met through Bethany, Derek and Jordan.

  “We’ve been after this guy for a while,” Russo said. “Thanks to Detective Henderson’s informant, we now have a possible location.”

  “Haynes will be in town this week, possibly as soon as the day after tomorrow.” Derek explained. “That means someone already asked for his services, and we want that guy, as well as Haynes’ boss.”

  “Why is homicide in this?” Jordan asked. “There are other open cases that—”

  “Because we’re hoping to prevent multiple homicides here.”

  “Okay. I get that.” She shrugged, feeling unfairly scolded by her partner who was obviously still mad at her. “Did Haynes’ deals ever get anyone killed before? Why do we think it might this time?”

  “My guy says the buyer is planning, I quote, ‘something big.’ That should be enough to have all of us worried.”

  “Yes, I agree.”

  Russo spoke up again. “There’ll be 24/7 surveillance.” He pointed to the map showing the abandoned house the informant had identified. “Detective, I want you to keep close contact with your CI, make sure we know if anything changes, or if he knows more, time, location, anything. We don’t want to take any chances.”

  Derek nodded.

  A somber group disassembled, and Jordan found herself looking at a few uncomfortable nights in close quarters with Derek—unless their suspects showed up tonight, which would be a preferable outcome. She called Darla and asked to reschedule their meeting. At least, Darla didn’t seem to mind.

  * * * *

  Night after night, they kept watching the building that was supposed to be the scene of the deal, once a two-family home, now housing mostly spiders and bats.

  After night four with none of those criminals actually turning up, and the communication between them still reduced to the bare necessities, Jordan decided it was time to move on. She was still certain she had been right, after all. Derek’s affair with McCarthy wasn’t the smartest move, but they were both adults. It was none of her business. Perhaps, she had secretly been worried about Ellie’s reaction, but she didn’t seem to mind much.

  In fact, Ellie’s only problem appeared to be that they never got the chance to go on their vacation. She was determined to get back to work as soon as possible and get some hours in so they could reschedule soon.

  “So…are you ever going to talk to me again?”

  “I talked to you when I asked you if we still had coffee.”

  Jordan leaned back into her seat and stared out into the darkness. “Maybe I owe you an apology. Frankly, I don’t know. What the hell were you thinking? It might not be up for me to judge, but I’m still curious. Everyone seems to want to compare this situation to me and Ellie. It’s not the same. We both made that choice, and we’re doing our best to make it work.”

  “What makes you think Kate and I aren’t?”

  “We’re not exactly proud. Those were your words.”

  “It’s not the best timing, but I’m serious about her. That’s all you need to know.”

  “And Maria?”

  Derek shook his head, laughing. “That’s it. Why don’t we analyze your life for a change?”

  Jordan shrugged. “Too many have tried and failed? You’re right. I assume you know what you’re doing.”

  “How’s Ellie?” he asked.

  “She seems fine. She’s back to normal work hours, staying with me for a while.”

  “I’ve heard. A while, or is it…”

  “Maybe. For now, she doesn’t really feel like going back there, but she’s going to look for another place sometime soon.”

  Derek’s gaze said that he wasn’t too sure about that. Jordan wasn’t either, and she hated how that made her feel anxious. A little sooner or later, it shouldn’t make a difference, should it?

  She jumped at the sound alerting her to a new text message.

  I haven’t heard from you in days. Are you OK?

  Jordan shook her head at the screen. “I might have to file a restraining order against Kathryn. She doesn’t stop calling and texting, and I have no desire to see her again.”

  “Sounds like you could have used that vacation.”

  “Oh yes. That’s another thing we’re working on. I’d feel better if we could find that second guy first.”

  “You believe he actually exists?”

  The question surprised Jordan. She had expected the mysterious guy trying to buy explosives to take precedence, but for all she knew, they were still looking for a second kidnapper.

  “Maria’s not talking to me all that much, for obvious reasons, but I overheard Bristol. There’s only evidence to put Ward in that room, and he’s dead. Branson got him the car, but apparently, that’s all he did. Ward’s fingerprints are all over this—it makes sense to assume he was working on his own.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” Jordan had to admit. Ellie wouldn’t be happy with this solution, but it made sense—if Ward had tried to trick her earlier by altering his voice, he might even go as far as making her think there was more than one kidnapper. It didn’t mean she couldn’t trust her perception ever again. It was hard to keep a clear mind when being held against your will, with a captor whose demeanor could take a turn to the worse any time.

  But Ellie hadn’t sounded like her mind was clouded by stress and fear. In fact, she was adamant about having heard the second person. Jordan would believe her unless proven otherwise. For all they knew, Ward made a perfect scapegoat for the other guy.

  “All right, it’s good we
cleared all that up before he arrived,” she said with regard to the shadowy figure materializing out of the bushes, shoulders hunched against the rain. The entry they were watching was the only access to the house. Whatever the person hoped to find there, the people he wanted to talk to hadn’t arrived yet.

  Minutes passed by, ten, then twenty.

  “Do you think someone tipped them off?” Jordan wondered out loud.

  “No. Mac would have told me.”

  He couldn’t get out anywhere other than the front door, so they were going to wait, and if no one joined him, invite him to a conversation.

  However, after another fifteen minutes, a van pulled up in front of the house.

  “It’s getting interesting,” Derek remarked when two men emerged, carrying a case each.

  “Yeah. We should join the party.” They got out of the car and carefully advanced towards the front door. Within minutes, other members of the task force had joined them.

  None of the men were one of the first floor as far as they could see, but there was a faint light upstairs. Flashlights.

  They went back to the front door, and Jordan opened it carefully, stepping inside. Derek followed her. They could hear muted voices from upstairs. Wooden steps led to the upper floor, the railing continuing into a gallery upstairs. Since those men had nowhere to go, it was better to greet them at the entrance. They waited for a tense two, three minutes until there was movement from above. Jordan prepared herself for confrontation as more officers approached from the back. They should be able to wrap this up quickly.

  The men who had carried whatever in those cases didn’t look like they’d be interested in a friendly chat. There were shouts, something about the price of the merchandise, and then a gunshot upstairs.

  Crap.

  Exchanging a quick signal, they sprinted up the wooden stairs, training their weapons at the two men who didn’t even see them coming until they yelled at them.

  “Police! Drop your weapons!”