by Curry, Edna
Oh, God, no. That’s all she’d need. Her mother’s hovering would drive her crazy and she’d never get any writing done. Hastily, she said, “No, that’s okay, Mom. I’m sure Jess will sleep a lot. Babies do at this age, don’t they? I can get one of the high-school girls in the neighborhood to help out, too.”
“If you’re sure.” Her mother’s voice sounded relieved and she added apologetically, “I’ve got several showings scheduled this week.”
“I’m sure. How do you like selling real estate?”
“I love it,” Maggie enthused. “I sold an expensive house the first week on the job. The commission will help get me started in this. Your father would’ve been proud of me.”
“Of course he would’ve, Mom.”
Candi bit back a rush of tears at the mention of her late father, Bart Lewis, who’d died in a car accident two years ago. His death had hit their family hard and was one reason Jolene had gone off to live on her own. She’d been Daddy’s special girl and had taken losing him especially hard, while Candi had always been the strong and practical one who got her sister out of trouble. That hadn’t changed.
***
Agent Luke Mazinger eased his rented sedan into a parking space a few houses down from where Jolene Lewis had parked her car. What was she up to now?
Why couldn’t she have settled down in a motel to catch up on sleep, so he could do the same? He wanted a hot shower and a shave. His hungry stomach growled, too. He hadn’t eaten on the plane nor taken time to buy anything since, for fear of losing her. He needed to buy a small ice chest and lay in a snack supply.
He’d followed Jolene from Las Vegas, luckily getting on the same plane as a last minute passenger. Knowing their destination, he’d spent some time on his laptop during the flight, checking on all her connections in and around the Minneapolis area. Jolene’s grandmother, Amanda Lewis, and sister, Candi Lewis, lived in the area. Luke’s office contact said Amanda wintered in Florida and wouldn’t return until May.
He’d called the place where Candi worked. The receptionist claimed Candi was on vacation and she had no way to contact her. A dead end. He had a list of Jolene’s various friends from her high school and college days. But it was impossible to tell which friends she might contact. He’d have to follow her to find out. Legwork again.
Jolene rented a car at the Minneapolis airport and drove directly to this northern suburb. He’d used all his driving skill to keep up with her without getting close enough for her to spot him. She obviously knew this area and had a destination in mind.
Lifting his binoculars, he watched Jolene sit in her car for a few minutes, apparently waiting for a couple of cars to go by. Now the street was quiet. She got out, glanced around, and opened the back door. She looped a diaper bag over her shoulder and took out the car carrier. She tucked the baby in, and leaned down to kiss her.
Then she hurried up the sidewalk. Suddenly she turned and strode across lawns and between houses to the next street. He eased his car around the block so as not to spook her, but keep her in sight, then parked again as she walked up to a large white two story house.
Jolene approached the older house cautiously, glancing around as though afraid of being seen. She climbed the steps to the porch and set the carrier and diaper bag down at the front door. She leaned down to kiss the baby again and he was surprised to see her face scrunched. She was crying. Why? What was going on?
She reached up and rang the doorbell and quickly ducked around behind the tall lilac bushes beside the next house.
He couldn’t see her now. Damn. Was she watching or had she left? Should he drive around to try to find her? But she’d left the baby. Surely she’d be back for it? Did she know who lived there? He wrote the house number in his notebook, then swung his binoculars up again as the door opened and a young, dark haired woman stepped out.
She stared at the baby, then came out and looked up and down the street and around the sides of the house. Obviously, she hadn’t expected to find it on her doorstep. Finally, she took the baby and diaper bag inside with her and shut the door.
Now what? He still couldn’t see Jolene. Should he stay with the baby or Jolene?
Quickly he drove back around the block to where Jolene had left her car. Damn. Gone. She must have run straight to her car as soon as the woman answered the door. Why hadn’t this drop-off been pre-arranged? That woman had seemed surprised to find the carrier. If she’d known someone was leaving the baby, she wouldn’t have looked up and down the street, would she?
Hoping Jolene would return to the airport, he back-tracked, using the route she’d taken to get to the house. He didn’t spot her anywhere. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Damn! Some FBI agent he was—losing her like a rookie.
He parked and jogged through the airport, flashing his ID to get through security and checking various flights back to Las Vegas. Again using his ID to get classified info, he learned she hadn’t booked a flight, at least not under the same name she’d used when flying here. Why would she switch now?
He even jogged down a couple of concourses to see if she’d gone to a gate.
Either she’d disappeared very fast or she’d gone somewhere else rather than the airport. The rental agency said she hadn’t turned in her car. So, most likely, she had stayed here near her baby. He checked the smaller nearby Humphrey terminal, to be sure. No sign of her there, either.
Back in his rented car, he used his cell phone to call Curt, another agent on the team still working in Las Vegas.
“George is still here,” Curt said. “He played at two different clubs last night. In both hotels, rooms were burglarized and both jewelry and cash taken. Like the other times, the people robbed were either at George’s table or nearby.”
“Sounds like he’s keeping them busy while an accomplice robs the room, doesn’t it? Get copies of the relevant security tapes. Any sign of who he’s working with?” Luke rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the kinks out of his tired muscles.
“No. But how does he know which people are alone? I mean, there could be others in the room, even if he knows one person at the table, don’t you think?”
“I’d say one of them has access to the hotel’s guest registry to see who is staying with his target person.”
“That’s possible. Trouble is, they keep switching casinos. If he has an accomplice in each hotel, he’d have to go to a lot of trouble to set up each robbery, wouldn’t he?”
“When the stakes are high enough, he could afford to do that,” Curt said wryly. “The jewelry they’ve lifted so far isn’t cheap. Remember, we think this is a gang rather than one person.”
“Yeah,” Luke agreed. “The more people involved, the more likely we’ll find a weak link. Or that they’ll make mistakes.”
“We’re working on that,” Curt said. “The problem is each hotel has a different security system. By the time we figure out one, they’ve moved on to another. It’s hard to cover them all.”
Luke chewed his lip, considering his options. “I wonder if Jolene’s trip here is part of the gang’s operation or a personal visit.”
“Me, too. We could be following a dead end.”
“Yeah. I think I should stay with the baby and try to figure out the connection Jolene has with the woman she gave her baby to,” Luke said. “I’d like to know why this sudden change from their usual MO.”
“Okay. I’ll call you if Jolene comes back here again or if George leaves.”
“Good. Talk to you later.”
Luke found a café with wireless internet access and took a table in a corner which offered some privacy. He set up his laptop and put in the address of the house Jolene had visited. It was owned by a lady in Florida, Amanda Lewis, Jolene’s grandmother. Aha.
So, who was the young woman staying in the house who now had the baby? A tenant? A relative? Several possibilities came to mind from his list of relatives. Jolene’s mother, Jolene’s sister and some cousins.
&n
bsp; The woman looked too young to be the mother, so he’d bet on the ‘vacationing’ sister, Candi Lewis. Candi had a Minneapolis apartment and an office job at Honeywell. Hmm. Honeywell was a big company with government contracts. Government contracts meant she must have passed a security background check for clearance to be working there. Not consistent with being his suspect. She could have a clean past and still be involved now. If she and Jolene worked together, they might be using their grandmother’s house as a cover.
Chapter 2
Luke drove back to the house. He parked nearby and jogged down the street, glancing through the kitchen window as he passed. The dark-haired woman who’d answered the door earlier sat at the table with the baby in the carrier in front of her as she fed it with a spoon. So, she still had the kid and didn’t plan to go anywhere immediately. A cozy everyday home scene. Did she do this often?
Enough with the sly stuff. He’d try direct. Just question the woman and learn what she had to say for herself. He retraced his steps, went to the door and rang the bell.
The woman who opened the door was in her early twenties, slim and attractive in spite of the frown on her face. She held the baby on her shoulder and peered at him cautiously from lovely hazel eyes.
He flashed his badge, saying, “Agent Luke Mazinger, FBI, Ma’am. I need a few minutes to talk to you.”
Suspicion narrowed her eyes and pierced him. She glanced down, read his badge, then searched his face. “Why?”
“Shall I explain to the neighbors?” He gestured at a raised curtain next door.
She glanced at her neighbor’s house, hesitated, then shrugged and opened the door wider. “All right, come in. I’m feeding the baby. You can talk while I finish.”
Turning, she strode away, leaving him to close the door and follow. Man, but she had a nice figure. Wavy, medium length dark brown hair bounced on a soft pink tee shirt. The baby eyed him from her shoulder. Her blue jeans fit snugly on nicely rounded curves and long legs, though she stood about six inches shorter than his six foot height. He shook his head, groaning silently. He shouldn’t be noticing stuff like that. She was a possible suspect.
He followed her to a large bright kitchen with white painted cupboards and new looking appliances. She put the infant in the carrier, where the baby immediately began fussing and waving her little arms.
She sat, picked up the spoon and a small cup and fed the baby a spoonful of thin white stuff. Must be baby cereal. Didn’t look appetizing to him, but the infant seemed to like it. The woman’s wide hazel eyes flicked up to him. “So, what do you want?”
“You’re Candi Lewis, right?”
“Yes,” she said cautiously, looking him over. “What did you say your name was?”
“Agent Luke Mazinger, FBI. Where’d you get the baby?”
She frowned. “What makes you think she isn’t mine? Why is it any of your business?”
“I’m making it my business.”
Shrugging, she admitted, “Jessica is my niece.”
At least she hadn’t lied about the baby’s name. Or did she guess he already knew? “Jolene’s daughter?”
Her head snapped up. Her brow arched and she worried her bottom lip. Good. He’d made her nervous. Maybe now she’d say something without thinking about it first.
“How did you know that? What does the FBI care about Jolene? Is she in trouble?”
“Why would you think that?”
“Jolene usually is,” she said with a sigh. “Trouble is her middle name.”
“Do you know where she is?”
She met his gaze. “No. Do you?”
“She and the man she’s living with have been under surveillance in Las Vegas for a while. I followed her here.”
She frowned. “You already knew Jolene dropped off the baby? Why didn’t you stop her?”
His quick, short laugh came out sounding like a bark. “Why should I have?”
“Isn’t it illegal to leave a baby on a doorstep?”
“Only if no one is waiting to pick it up. Obviously you were.” He watched her face, then followed her gaze to the baby who spat the last spoonful of cereal back out.
Candi said indignantly, “I was not waiting to pick her up! The doorbell rang. I answered and there she was. Jolene never told us she had a baby.” She put down the cup and wiped the baby’s face. She picked up Jessie and held her against her shoulder, patting the baby’s back and frowning at him. “I don’t have time for this. I have work to do. State your business and leave.”
He sighed and stood, towering over her. “Where’s Jolene?”
She didn’t back down. “You tell me. You were watching her.”
He flushed and stared at her, waiting for an answer.
She shrugged in defeat. “I told you, I don’t know where she is. I haven’t seen or talked to her in years.”
He waved a hand at Jessica. “I don’t believe you. You have her daughter. What makes you think Jessica is your niece?”
“Because Jolene left a note saying so. I recognized her handwriting and she signed her name. Anything else before I show you the door?”
“Let me see the note.”
She scowled at him, but relented and strode to the next room.
He followed, glancing around. This room held dining room furniture, but now was an office. Books and papers sat in various piles on the large table. A computer hummed, a screensaver danced on the monitor. A printer, scanner, fax machine and phone showed the lady kept busy.
“What’s with all the office equipment?”
“I write mystery novels.”
“Oh, yeah? I thought you worked in the office at Honeywell?”
She scowled at him. “How do you know that? Never mind, you investigated me.”
“Some,” he admitted.
She sighed. “That figures. I took some vacation time to try to meet my book deadline. I thought here at Gram’s house I’d find peace and quiet. Ha. Fat chance. Here’s Jolene’s note.”
She picked up a sheet of paper beside the phone and thrust it at him. He read it, confirming her claim she hadn’t expected the baby. So, how was she involved?
“Who is George Bender?” Luke asked, pretending ignorance. He needed to find George’s connection to her and her family.
She shrugged. “Mom says he’s an older man Jolene took up with lately. We haven’t met him.”
He frowned, tapping the letter. “She says not to give him Jessica. Why does Jolene think he’ll want the baby? Is it his?”
Candi glared at him. “How would I know? Jolene had another boyfriend when she took off from Mom’s place in Florida a couple of years ago. She doesn’t answer to me.”
“Or anyone else in the family?” he guessed.
“Right. She’s over twenty-one and couldn’t care less about what we think.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?” She cast him a doubtful glare, then remembered the sleeping baby and lowered her voice. “I wish I did. Look, I need to put Jessica down for a nap. And I have to get some work done while she’s sleeping.”
That sounded like a broad hint for him to leave. He glanced at the baby who slept on Candi’s shoulder.
The soft scent of baby powder mixed with Candi’s floral perfume teased his nose. He pushed back the temptation to reach out and touch Jessie’s soft cheek. Such a cute baby, pretty as a picture, like her aunt.
The need to keep them both safe sent a knot to his stomach. How could they be mixed up in the dirty mess he was investigating? It didn’t seem possible. Yet he knew Candi and Jolene’s father had been. Exactly how, he wasn’t sure. He reminded himself people weren’t always what they seemed. Maybe like father, like daughters? He brought his mind back to her obvious wish for him to leave.
“All right,” he said. “I’ll let myself out. But I may be back with more questions.”
“No doubt,” he heard her mutter as he moved to the door.
She followed him and snapped the deadbolt lock into place b
ehind him.
Good. At least she now knew enough about the danger to be cautious.
***
Candi sent a nervous glance after him through the peep hole, then carried Jessica to her bedroom and gently laid her on the bed. She tucked the baby blanket around her and arranged the pillows to prevent her from rolling. Jessica sighed softly, stuck her thumb in her mouth and continued to sleep.
Candi slipped back to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, and then returned to her computer. At this rate, she’d never make her deadline.
She tried to concentrate on the screen in front of her, but for the life of her couldn’t remember what she’d intended to write next. Damn it, she’d lost the thread of her story.
She picked up the hot coffee and sipped, thinking about Luke. He was a little too rugged looking to call handsome. Definitely interesting and attractive. Fascinating, even. Enough taller than her so they’d fit well together. Did he dance? He reminded her of the hero she’d described in her last mystery. He’d been a good dancer in a couple of scenes. A cop the rest of the time, though, and a pretty gritty one, too. Luke was FBI. A kind of cop.
But she shouldn’t be thinking about Luke. Or drooling over him. Relationships only brought her trouble. Remember your ex—Jack, she scolded herself with a bitter shudder. Or rather, don’t remember him. She’d rather forget the months she hadn’t been able to write after their breakup.
So forget the good-looking Luke. Concentrate on her sister and the baby. Jolene was the problem. What had she gotten herself into now? Why was the FBI interested? FBI meant serious trouble. Candi’s heart pounded at the idea. She’d always been able to get Jolene out of her scrapes before. Could she do it this time?
What was George Bender’s connection to her family and why was Jolene afraid he’d want Jessica?
***
Luke needed a way to keep an eye on Candi without her noticing. He couldn’t stay in his parked car for days on end here. He recognized this family neighborhood as one similar to the one where he’d been raised. Everyone knew everyone else’s business. Someone would notice him and call the cops. The locals never appreciated another agency moving in on someone in their territory, especially the Feds. They’d want to control what was going on. He couldn’t allow that.