“I thought so. Frank James…the police detective who planted evidence and lied on the witness stand, resulting in my conviction and two-year prison term.”
She heard the bitterness and anger in his voice. She didn’t know specifically why he had been sent to prison or the exact circumstances surrounding his arrest, but she knew he would tell her when the time was right. And despite her initial doubts, she also believed he was innocent, just as he had claimed. She had never been in a position before where she needed to put blind faith in anyone, especially a stranger…a man she barely knew.
But she trusted him, even though she couldn’t explain why.
Reece did a quick scan of Frank’s file. “Look…” He pointed to the screen. “It says he has an allergy to penicillin. That fits in with the medical alert bracelet you saw.”
He continued to stare at the picture of Frank James. He clenched his jaw, setting his features into a hard line of determination. Then he abruptly shut down the computer and rose from the chair, his attitude once again all business. “While you’re calling your agent, I’m going to get us that help I mentioned.”
Brandi sat at his desk as she placed the call. Reece took the other cell phone that he used for special circumstances and walked out onto the front porch of the cabin. He dialed the number. The familiar voice finally came on the line.
“Hodges.”
“Joe…it’s Reece Covington.”
There was a long pause before Joe responded, his voice noticeably hesitant. “Reece…well, this is a surprise. It’s been a long time.”
“It’s been over two years.”
“Yes…before you were…uh…”
“Before I went to prison. Is that what you’re trying not to say?” Something about Joe’s tone of voice, a reticence in his attitude, put Reece on alert. “I have a situation and I could use your assistance.”
“Situation? What type of situation?”
“I have a—” he paused a moment, not sure how to categorize Brandi “—a friend who is in desperate need of help. As you probably know, going to prison cost me my private investigator’s license—at least for the time being. I can’t legally take on a client, charge a fee and work a case. And needless to say, I’m not allowed to have any firearms—concealed or otherwise.”
“So, what is it you want from me? I have a job. I’m an FBI agent, not a private eye looking for my next client.”
“I want to meet with you so I can give you some information about my friend’s problem. I think you can be helpful in resolving the situation.”
“Why don’t you take it to the local police?”
“I can’t. They’re part of the problem.”
“Whose jurisdiction is it?”
“Rocky Shores.”
“I see. Well…”
Reece’s muscles tensed in an involuntary response to Joe’s hesitation and his tone of voice. “Do I need to put this on the basis of calling in the favor you owe me?”
“No, of course not. I was just looking at my schedule to see what would be a good time. Where are you?”
“Where I am is unimportant. What matters is where and when we can meet.”
“Okay. How about in half an hour at Pike Place Market?”
“No good. I have some other business to take care of first. How about lunch at the Space Needle? You make the reservation.” Reece had no intention of confiding to Joe that he was not actually in Seattle and couldn’t possibly be at the designated location in half an hour.
“All right. Is one o’clock okay?”
“Make it one-thirty.” Reece disconnected the call without bothering to say goodbye. He had already been on the call longer than he wanted to be. A nagging hint of apprehension continued to linger in the back of his mind. He knew he could attribute part of Joe’s attitude to his surprise at hearing from him after all this time and especially under the circumstances. But there was something else that he couldn’t define.
He turned as he heard Brandi walk out onto the porch. “Were you able to reach your agent? Will she be able to scan the pictures into her computer?” He escorted her back inside, not wanting her to remain exposed to the possibility of prying eyes…just in case.
“Yes, but she was just walking out the door when the phone stopped her. She won’t be able to do it until tomorrow. She’ll send them as soon as they’re ready.”
“I’m meeting with Joe at one-thirty this afternoon. I want you to stay here.”
“I won’t be going with you? But wouldn’t he want to meet me and hear the story from me if he’s going to help us?”
“I’m sure that’s exactly what he would want, but that’s not what he’s going to get. I’m not exposing you to unnecessary danger. I do not intend, at least not at this point in time, to reveal your identity to Joe…or to anyone else for that matter.”
She wrinkled her brow in confusion. “I thought you said you trusted this guy, that you saved his life so he owes you.”
“I also haven’t seen or talked to him since I ended up in prison. I told him I was innocent at the time of my arrest—” a bittersweet chuckle escaped his lips “—but I guess that’s what everyone says.” There was no mistaking the sarcasm that had surrounded his words.
“So, that makes this a whole new ballgame where we need to re-establish the ground rules. And then there’s the other consideration. I certainly don’t want you to be someplace where you could be spotted by Frank or one of his cohorts. Since we don’t know who else is involved other than Frank, we have no way of knowing who to be on the lookout for.”
“How much do you plan to tell your FBI friend?”
“Just the bare facts—that you’re being stalked by Frank James—and see what kind of reaction I get to that. If he seems receptive and willing to help, then I’ll tell him more. Hopefully we’ll be able to get some information from Joe about the activities of Frank James and who his associates are, especially who would be a likely candidate for the person that Frank reports to as far as his extracurricular activities are concerned.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “You mean Frank isn’t the boss?”
“I’d be surprised if he was. My opinion of Frank James says that if he were the top dog, he would have eliminated you without giving it a second thought. Ob viously someone else is making the ultimate decisions or you wouldn’t be alive. And whoever it is, it’s someone who has more clout than Frank does and that’s a name I hope Joe can provide to us.”
She wrinkled her brow into a contemplative frown. “Do you think he reports to some sort of crime boss?”
“I don’t know. It’s either that or someone official who’s higher up than he is, someone with dirty hands who has a lot more power than Frank. Either way, it’s information we need if we’re going to figure out what’s happening and how to put a stop to it.”
She bit at her lower lip, a nervous gesture that belied her attempt to project a confident and secure appearance. “Are we talking about some kind of conspiracy? Something I know, something I saw, something I heard…something I somehow became involved in that no one was supposed to know about?”
He allowed a slight scowl. “I don’t know. I’m not sure exactly what we’re dealing with, but that’s definitely a possibility. Whatever it is, I intend to get to the bottom of it.” And take Frank James down in the process, make him pay for what he did to me. Then a more pressing reality entered his mind, one that managed to overshadow his thoughts of personal revenge.
He pulled Brandi into his arms and held her body tightly against his. He tenderly stroked her hair while reveling in her closeness. All the heated passion and tender feelings he had wanted to explore last night flooded his consciousness. And I also want him to pay for what he’s doing to you.
Brandi slipped her arms around his waist as she rested her head against his shoulder. She felt so safe when he held her, as if nothing bad could ever touch her. It had been less than twenty-four hours since she first set eyes on him, but it seemed as
if they had packed years of closeness into those hours. Yes, she trusted this man—trusted him with her life. A fleeting thought questioned whether those were prophetic words that would come back to haunt her, words that would be put to the test. She shoved the unwelcome thought aside as she drew from his strength.
Then his mouth came down on hers, a mouth that mingled tenderness with a heated passion.
The kiss ended all too soon. No one had ever kissed her the way he did. No one had ever stirred her desires the way he did. No one had ever made her want to jump in bed for a night of no-strings-attached lovemaking the way he did.
REECE ARRIVED AT THE Space Needle half an hour early so he could check out the area. He saw Joe Hodges arrive but waited to see what would happen. When he was satisfied that Joe had come alone, he made his appearance. He held out his hand toward the FBI agent, who clasped it in a firm handshake.
“Joe…it’s good to see you again. You’re looking well.” Reece extended an outwardly pleasant smile while remaining constantly alert to everything going on around him.
“It’s been a long time, Reece. I must say, you’re looking none the worse for wear from your…uh, vacation at the state’s expense.”
Reece narrowed his eyes as he paused to appraise the man standing in front of him. “Yes, my unfortunate incarceration.”
A moment of awkward silence invaded the space between them before the elevator door opened. They went up to the restaurant and were seated at one of the window tables with the ever-changing view as the restaurant made its hourly 360-degree revolution.
They exchanged meaningless pleasantries, commented on the weather and basically engaged in mindless chitchat for a few minutes until after the waiter had taken their orders. Then Joe leaned forward, dropped his voice to a low tone and became all business.
“All right, what’s this situation you mentioned and what do you want from me?”
Reece had always liked that about Joe, the way he cut through everything and got right to the point. He liked the directness. He didn’t have the time or the desire to jockey for position, play the little ego games that he found to be a waste of time.
He fixed Joe with a steady gaze, prepared to catch even the slightest inflection in response to what he was about to say. “You know Frank James, don’t you? Detective Lieutenant Frank James of the Rocky Shores Police Department?” He caught a quick look of something that flickered through Joe’s eyes, but disappeared before he could read it.
“I met him once. A casual acquaintance of mine introduced us at a social gathering. What does he have to do with this?”
He saw the wariness dart across Joe’s face, then dis appear as quickly as it had appeared. Joe was playing it cagey, but in all fairness it was no different than what he would do if someone put him in the same position.
“My friend that I mentioned is being stalked by Frank.” He was careful not to mention whether he was talking about a man or a woman, preferring to leave Brandi as someone gender neutral for the time being.
Joe leaned back in his chair, his voice and body language signaling a finality to the topic of conversation. “If the Rocky Shores Police Department has someone under surveillance—”
“The police don’t have my friend under surveillance. My friend attempted to report the stalking to them before knowing who was involved, but they blew it off and treated the information as if it had come from some neurotic nutcase—didn’t even do a report on it. It turns out that Frank is the stalker. He’s broken into my friend’s house, stolen some personal property and has gone so far as to carry out an abduction in the middle of the day. My friend managed to escape and has gone into hiding.”
Joe’s reaction to this bit of information was immediate and intense. His body jerked to attention, and he leaned forward again after giving a quick glance around to see if anyone was within earshot.
“How do you know this? Who is this friend of yours?”
“I know this because my friend told me about the stalking and abduction. I looked into it—in an unofficial capacity, of course—and who do you suppose I found right in the middle of things? None other than Frank James.”
Joe furrowed his brow into a contemplative scowl. “But why would a decorated police detective do that?”
Reece leaned back in his chair, a smirk of satisfaction tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Ah…now you’ve arrived at the crux of the problem. Why, indeed, would Frank James be doing such a terrible thing to my friend?”
“That smug expression tells me you already know the answer.”
“I don’t know the answer, at least not all of it.”
The waiter arrived with their food, bringing the conversation to an abrupt halt. Reece took advantage of the interruption and used it to play on Joe’s curiosity and nerves. He could tell he had hooked the FBI agent, and now he needed to reel him in. From his experience with Joe, the surest way to accomplish that was to change the subject. If Joe brought it up again within the next five minutes, he knew he would get the cooperation he wanted.
Reece set about eating his lunch, making the occasional comment on the quality of the food, the recent rainstorm and the gathering storm clouds that hung low on the horizon, indicating another bout of heavy rain coming in off the Pacific Ocean. And all the while he kept a careful eye on Joe, monitoring his body language for any hint of what was going through his mind. He didn’t like playing games, but this wasn’t a game. It was serious business.
Deadly serious.
And the safety of someone who was growing more special by the minute was at stake. Someone who had managed to put a shift in his priorities, a subtle realization that surprised him. Stopping Frank James was still his goal, but now it was more about protecting Brandi than it was the personal matter of settling a score.
“So…what is it you want from me?”
Joe tried to sound casual, but his attempt failed miserably. An inner spark of satisfaction told Reece that he had Joe’s cooperation—at least to a point. He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial level. He fixed Joe with a hard stare, showing that he was all business and very determined.
“I want to know if there’s anything in federal files about Frank James, any little irregularities connected with his job performance. Any suspicions of wrongdoing or criminal activity. Frank is involved in a ton of illegal stuff. I know that for a fact. He’s the one who lied on the witness stand and fit the frame around me with the help of a sexy little vixen with incredible acting skills…along with her other many talents. I’m convinced that someone higher up than Frank is calling the shots, but I don’t know who. It could be someone in a position of legal authority, someone with political clout or someone walking the other side of the fence. Either way, Frank James is a dirty cop and has to be taken down.”
Joe leaned back in his chair, a troubled expression crossing his features as he emitted a low whistle. “You’re not asking for much, are you? As far as I can tell, there’s nothing here that officially involves any federal agency, which means the FBI can’t be involved in local matters unless the police invite us in. You say your friend was abducted but escaped. Since your friend didn’t report the abduction, there’s no official record that it even happened. I can see why you don’t want to take it to the Rocky Shores police since you believe that Frank James is somehow involved. But what about—”
“Frank is not merely a…what is that expression you are using now—person of interest…someone who is somehow involved. He’s definitely in the middle of whatever it is that’s going on. He didn’t abduct my friend simply because it was a slow day and he didn’t have anything better to do.”
“What do you think is going on? Without proof what do you expect anyone to do? Why haven’t you taken this to someone on the state level?”
“Nope, I can’t take a chance. I don’t know anyone on that level well enough, and they don’t know me that well, either. And then there’s my record, which shows I was just released after two ye
ars in prison and that Frank James was the prosecution’s chief witness against me. That certainly doesn’t give me any credibility against a decorated police lieutenant.”
“I’d like to meet with your friend, hear the story firsthand.”
“Perhaps at some time in the future, but not now.”
“You’re not even going to tell me who this friend of yours is?”
“No—not at this time.”
“So, what you’re saying is that I’m supposed to help you, but you aren’t going to trust me.”
Reece allowed a hint of a teasing grin. “It does sound that way, doesn’t it?”
Joe slowly shook his head, his brow knitted in concentration. He drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled in a sigh of resignation. “Okay. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll see if I can find something…maybe make a few discreet inquiries of other agencies in addition to checking our files.”
“That’s all I’m asking.” Reece jotted his cell phone number on a napkin and handed it to Joe. “You can reach me through this number. Don’t bother trying to run it down to find a location on me because it won’t lead you anywhere.”
Joe took the napkin and shoved it in his pocket as a slight grin turned the corners of his mouth. “You always were very cautious. Makes me wonder how you allowed yourself to be in a position where you could be framed and end up in prison.”
He could see that Joe was baiting him, looking for an impulsive comment that might divulge some information. But Reece kept his thoughts carefully in check. He did not intend to give Joe that much satisfaction.
The two men finished their lunch, their conversation turning to more generic matters. When the check came, Reece handed it to Joe along with a sly grin.
“Here, you have a job and an expense account. I’m just a humble out-of-work ex-private eye trying to get my life back together.”
Joe chuckled appreciatively and accepted the check. “I sincerely doubt that things are as dire for you as you make them sound.”
Somewhere in the back of his mind Reece couldn’t shake the feeling that he had been right in not trusting Joe with Brandi’s identity. But had he made a colossal mistake in contacting Joe? The possibility weighed heavily on his mind.
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