Embattled Hearts 1

by J. M. Madden

  “Did you find her?”

  He nodded but didn’t turn around. “She’s asleep.”

  Preston chuckled, and it was the first time John had ever heard the man do that. The sound was curious enough to make him turn around and look up at him in surprise.

  “Gunny, you better let that poor girl sleep at night. She’s got a lot going on right now.”

  John snorted, then chuckled, and it was exactly the release he needed. Preston had managed to hone in on the most lighthearted aspect of the night and spotlight it. “Hey, it’s been a while. What can I say? I’ve got catching up to do.”

  He reached out and clasped hands with the big man. “You’re all right, Preston.”

  Shannon stepped out of the office then, rumpled and bleary eyed. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing, Shannon.” John reached out, and as naturally as breathing brought her down onto his lap. She pressed her lips to his, and wrapped her arms around him. She had to be the sweetest weight he’d ever carried. He rubbed her back up and down.

  Shannon let him cuddle her for a minute, then pulled back to look him in the face. “So, what’s going on with Jennings?”

  John shrugged lightly, trying to keep the anger off his face. “Nothing right now. He got a warning to stay away from the building unless he has an appointment.”

  Pursing her lips, Shannon nodded once. “Did he say anything about me? Why he looks at me like I broke his toy? Any hints?”

  “No.”

  John wished he could wipe the dismay from her expression, but he didn’t know how. He continued to rub her back and just let her know he was there.

  The elevator dinged and Duncan stepped off, just as grim faced. He forced a smile for Shannon, though. “Don’t worry, Shannon. Old Frank knows not to let him in the building now unless I let him know he’s coming ahead of time.”

  “Thanks, Duncan.” She smiled at him and winked. “Maybe I’ll get some overtime into pay for all this security.”

  John chuckled and let her slip off his lap. Duncan glared at her. “No, you won’t be working. Go into the lounge and chill out, both of you. We’ll order take-out while we decide what to do.”

  They settled on Chinese. Again. John headed to his office to work on something. Shannon ordered while Preston flipped channels on the big flat-screen mounted to the wall. He settled on a show about sharks and the Great Barrier Reef. Shannon thought it was appropriate for the big ex-soldier, and sat on the couch catty-corner from his chair. “Have you ever been there?”

  “No.”

  Guess that was the end of that conversation. Restless, she rose and headed to John’s office.

  Hunched over the computer, he didn’t even look up when she entered. Shannon thought he seemed excited. “What do you see?”

  His dark eyes flicked to hers. “For shits and giggles, I had Preston mount a camera with an attached transmitter to the tree where we noticed the snow was brushed off the other day.”

  “Did it record something?” She leaned over his shoulder to peer at the screen. Excitement sped up her heart as she followed the line of his finger. The video was in black and white, but it captured a lean figure as he knelt at the end of her driveway. Even her sharp eyes couldn’t see anything distinguishing about the person, although something seemed vaguely familiar. The camera was too far away to see their face, just a lean shape as they hunched over, packing the barbs in the snow. John tapped a couple of keys, and the camera zoomed in, but the image degraded too much to be visible.

  “It’s not Mike. I actually had doubt about the prison keeping track of him. But it’s definitely not him. Too skinny.”

  “Okay. Does the person look familiar at all?”

  Shannon racked her brain trying to figure out who it was, but the video was too far away. “Not really.”

  She must have sounded frustrated, because he turned enough to catch her gaze. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure it out. With any luck the camera will pick up a license plate or something.”

  But it didn’t. The person stood and stepped out of view and the camera stopped recording. The next image was of Preston’s truck tire just before it pulled into the driveway.

  John stopped the recording and pivoted to face her. “Obviously they didn’t see the camera, so we’ll leave it there for the time being and hope the guy slips up.”

  Shannon ran her hand across her brow, so incredibly tired.

  “Why don’t you go lie down on the bunk for a while. We’re probably going to be here for at least an hour or so.”

  Too tired to argue, Shannon pressed a kiss to his forehead and turned away, but John stopped her with his hand on hers. He tilted his head up, and Shannon gladly rested her lips on his. She needed this closeness that was growing between them, and it make her incredibly happy that John seemed to need it too. “I just wish this was all done so we could concentrate on us.”

  He squeezed her hand, then let her go. “I know.”

  Surprisingly, she slept like a log for two hours on the lumpy futon. And when she woke, famished, Duncan microwaved the Chinese for her and sat with her while she ate it. She must have looked like she was searching for John. “He’s still on the computer.”

  Shannon nodded. She’d assumed as much.

  “We had a call back from Quillen at Denver PD.”

  Shannon didn’t like the way Duncan was looking at her. “What did he find?”

  “He sent over a clip of the footage, and it looks like the phone was placed in the booking room by a nurse. Reddish-blond hair, five-six. She was a PRN nurse by the name of Lisa Dixon.”

  No. “Lisa Dixon? Are you sure of that?”

  Duncan nodded regretfully. “John says he recognized her, but you ought to go in and confirm it.”

  She didn’t even realize she was running until she slammed through John’s office doorway. “Can I see the clip, please?”

  John typed a couple of things and double-clicked on a file. The back of Lisa’s head flashed onto the screen. The strawberry blond was brightly distinctive in the dingy gray of the booking area. The view was obstructed, but it looked like she reached into her left pocket, pulled something out and placed it at the back of the booking counter, under a shelf.

  Shannon was heartsick. She’d known Lisa for a year now, and thought she was a friend. They’d shopped together and grilled together, and they’d comforted each other over men. “There has to be some other explanation. She can’t be the one that did all those things.”

  “No,” John agreed, “but she’s a lead we need to check out. I don’t think she did everything either, but we need to know more about her. Who is she involved with? What about her family?”

  Shannon sank down to the chair across from his desk, and tried to get her mind in order. “The guy she dates is kind of off and on. I’ve never met him. I think they’ve been dating for almost a year.”

  Disbelief still had her shaking her head. “What possible reason would she have to do anything to me? I’ve only ever been a friend to her.”

  Nausea turned her stomach at the betrayal, but John reached out and squeezed her hand. “Let’s just wait and see. Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks.”

  Shannon made a face at him. “Seriously?”

  “Okay, I know it looks bad. We’ll get to the bottom of this, Shannon.”

  Who would have ever thought that John Palmer would be encouraging her to look for the good in people?

  “So, what’s the plan?”

  John grinned at her, obviously pleased with her response. “Let’s go talk to Duncan.”

  Between the four of them, it was decided that Preston would go out to the house, clear the driveway and scout the area. When Lisa got home, Shannon would ask her over to talk. John and Duncan would be inside the house, and Preston would watch from the outside.

  Shannon didn’t like the plan at all. She felt like she hadn’t had long enough to think things out, and she was afraid she would flub something when they talked to h
er. John had given her a list of things to say and do.

  “You’ll be fine, Shannon. We’ll be there as well. Are you worried about her hurting you?”

  “No,” she gasped, horrified at the thought. “I think that’s the problem. She’s a nurse, and my friend. She wouldn’t hurt me for anything. These things that have been happening to me have been escalating, and I just don’t see her doing it.”

  John looked skeptical, but he didn’t contradict her outright.

  “We’ll take it slow, and be subtle,” Duncan promised.

  Forty minutes later, they pulled into Shannon’s freshly cleared driveway. They had an hour before Lisa got home from her night shift at the hospital. Preston was nowhere to be seen, but she’d kind of expected that. He was probably watching them, though. They all piled out of Duncan’s extended cab truck and trooped up to her door. They had time to kill. Shannon fed and played with the kittens, and did a load of laundry. John ghosted after her, and it was almost as if he was afraid to let her out of his sight.

  Shannon fought tears constantly. It was one thing to think she’d caused a blip on some guy’s radar she’d never seen before, but to imagine it was somebody she’d cooked for, and held when she cried over a lost patient, was disheartening. No, it was flat-out demoralizing. It made her question every friendship she’d made. Her eyes drifted to John as he fiddled with one of the monitors. Were she and John actually as connected as she thought? Or was this just a friendly arrangement in his eyes?

  Shannon was frazzled and aggravated by the time Lisa pulled in the driveway a few minutes later. She gave her long enough to get into the house, then called over. “Lisa, can you come over here for a minute? I really need to talk to you about something.”

  “Sure, Shannon. Give me a minute and I’ll be over.”

  John suddenly turned away and held the earpiece in his ear. “Go ahead.” He looked at the monitors and tapped a couple of buttons. One of the cameras viewing the outside corner of the house came into view, and Duncan leaned in to look. Lisa walked across the screen and disappeared, and there was a knock at the door. John nodded to her, and Shannon walked over to let her in.

  Lisa wore her standard blue scrubs, and had her hair up in a knot on the back of her head. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, but she smiled at Shannon when she walked into the house. When she caught sight of Duncan and John, though, she frowned. Her eyes widened dramatically when she saw all the camera equipment and monitors.

  Shannon closed the door behind her, and turned to introduce the two men. “Lisa, these are two of my bosses, Duncan Wilde and John Palmer. Guys, this is Lisa Dixon.”

  “Hello.”

  Shannon motioned to a chair. “Would you sit down for a minute, please?”

  “Sure.”

  Lisa was looking more and more leery. It was an awkward situation to walk into. She forced a smile and crossed her legs, leaning back into the cushion. “So, what can I do for you guys?”

  Shannon sat on the corner of the couch closest to her. John snugged his chair in behind her, and Duncan stood at the fireplace mantle. Lisa may not have realized it, but they had positioned themselves to come to Shannon’s defense if she needed it.

  “Do you remember me telling you about that stalker I had? Several years ago.”

  Lisa frowned and nodded. “Of course. He’s in prison, though, right?”

  “Yes. But some things have been happening recently that made me think he was out.”

  “Oh, God—he’s not, is he?” Lisa leaned forward, and seemed genuinely alarmed.

  “No, he’s not. But somebody is making me think he is. They’re doing the same kinds of things he did.”

  Shannon paused, like John had told her to do, and let the silence stretch out. Theoretically, it was to make Lisa uncomfortable enough to talk, but she stayed quiet.

  “Anyway,” Shannon continued, “night before last I started getting text messages threatening to hurt me. They intimated threatening my boyfriend.” She made a motion to John. “That cell phone was found in the Denver PD booking room this morning, under the counter.”

  Lisa paled, and her jaw slackened. “What?”

  “The cell phone was found under the counter in the booking room. Lisa, did you work at the jail yesterday?”

  The woman blinked heavily. “I did. They called me in for a couple of hours.”

  Shannon swallowed hard. She knew what she needed to ask. “And did you put a cell phone under the counter?”

  “I did,” Lisa admitted, readily enough. “Jimmy said that it belonged to one of his buddies, and he’d left it at his apartment. He asked me to leave it there for him to pick up.”

  Lisa seemed genuine. Shannon glanced at John, but she couldn’t read anything from his face. Something occurred to her. “Wait a minute. Your Jimmy? As in, your schmuck boyfriend Jimmy that plays around?”

  Lisa nodded.

  “What’s your boyfriend’s name, Lisa?” John had rolled closer.

  “James Wilkins. He’s a road officer at Denver PD.”

  Shannon felt her own face pale, and she lurched to her feet. She jogged to the kitchen and snatched the business card from the refrigerator. J. Wilkins. She took it back to Lisa. “Is this him?”

  “Yes, have you talked to him?”

  Shannon felt the room dim around her. She dropped to the couch and leaned forward over her knees. A broad hand rested on her back. “It’s okay, Shannon. We’ll get him. It’s okay, babe.”

  For a few minutes, all she could do was concentrate on breathing. The man stalking her had been right next door, at least part of the time. But how would he know the details about Gerbowski? The Pepsi can, and the rose petals?

  John waited patiently at her side.

  “I’m okay. Just shocked.”

  Lisa was crying, and seemed bewildered. Shannon still couldn’t tell if it was an act or not. Her emotion seemed genuine, but Shannon had learned the hard way she wasn’t always the best judge of character.

  Duncan moved toward Lisa. “Ms. Dixon, do you know where Jimmy is now?”

  She shook her head. “He was at the house for a little while last night, but he’s gone now.”

  “Does he have a key to your house?”

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Yes. Can you explain to me please what’s going on? I’m very confused. I feel like I’m in trouble.”

  Shannon reached out and clasped Lisa’s hand, in spite of John’s earlier warning. “We think Jimmy’s been stalking me. We’re just not sure why.”

  Lisa shook her head in disbelief. “Why would he do that?”

  “We’re not sure, Lisa, but this is the best information we’ve gotten.”

  She looked up at Duncan as he stepped closer to her chair, cell phone in hand. “Lisa, what kind of vehicle does Jimmy drive? Do you know any of his personal information? Birthday, social, anything like that?”

  “He drives a big black truck, four-wheel-drive—not sure what kind, though. And his birthday is June twentieth. Not sure about his social, though.”

  Duncan was inputting information to text somebody and nodding his head. “Good, good. When does he work next?”

  “Should be this morning. We kind of pass in the night most of the time. He works days and I work nights or swing shift. Sometime we overlap in the morning and he comes to see me at the hospital or the jail if they’ve called me in.” She looked at Shannon. “Did he flatten your tires?”

  “I have no idea.” It did make sense, though. “Lisa, I’ve never seen a truck like that in your driveway. Where does he park?”

  Lisa made a motion with her hand. “Somewhere a couple blocks away. He said he doesn’t want to run the chance of the people he’s arrested figuring out where he lives or who he hangs out with.”

  John rubbed his hand across her back again. Shannon was so grateful he was here with her. She’d be floundering around completely if he wasn’t.

  Suddenly, he slapped a hand to his ear. “Preston? Preston! Answer me, damn i
t.”

  He powered the chair to the monitors, but Shannon couldn’t see any movement anywhere. Duncan stepped up behind him and leaned over.

  The bottom fell out of her stomach. Why wasn’t he responding?

  “Do you see him? What did you hear?”

  John didn’t even glance at her. “I heard a scuffle, and a couple of bangs, and then nothing.” He held a finger to the earpiece. “Preston! Respond!”

  Duncan slipped off his suit jacket. Shannon was surprised to see a leather harness wrapped around his broad shoulders, holding two black pistols, butt out. She’d never seen him wear anything like it before. But then, he was the boss. He ran the show. The other guys wore their guns regularly.

  “What was his last position?”

  “Northeast rooftop.”

  Duncan put on a headset and slipped out the back sliding glass doors. His limp was completely gone. Her heart pounded in fear, and it was all she could do to hold it together.

  Lisa tightened her hands on Shannon’s. “What’s going on?”

  John glared at Lisa. “We think your boyfriend is trying to hurt Shannon. At the very least, he’s making her life hell. Do you have any idea why he would be doing that?”

  Lisa shook her head repeatedly, crying all the harder. “I don’t know why he would do that. He’s a nice guy.”

  Shannon handed her the tissue box from the end table and Lisa blew her nose. John turned back to the monitors to watch for movement.

  There was a ping to the outside of the house, and one of the small windows beside the big bay window shattered.

  “Get down!” John yelled.

  Shannon did as she was told immediately, pulling Lisa down beside her on the hardwood floor. They huddled together behind the couch, shielding their heads with their arms as glass continued to rain down. Shannon tried to look for John, but he was out of sight. “John?”

  “I’m fine. Shannon, head to your bedroom. Get away from all this glass!”

  Shannon didn’t need to be told twice. Skittering on her knees, clutching Lisa’s shirt, she pushed and pulled her way into the hallway.