by Mimi Barbour
Charli giggled. “You’re exaggerating, shame on you.”
He put the tray on the bed, held his hand over his heart and posed. “On my honor.”
Suddenly serious, she leaned forward, her worry apparent. “I know I was upset, but I never meant to make anyone afraid.”
“Honey, you didn’t just scare them, you… ahh, you terrified them. It was the huge sign written over your behavior that screamed a warning – I’M ON THE EDGE! The others realized they might have been the obstacle that pushed you over. It’s a dreadful scene watching the person you love fighting so hard to keep it together.”
She thought about his words and went to stand. “I need to apologize right now.”
Stopping her, he said, “Don’t. I just checked on everyone and they’re all out for the count. It’s been a crazy day for them too. They need to recuperate. It’ll wait until morning.”
She watched his expression and knew instantly. “Something’s wrong.” She put down the chicken wing she’d snagged and wiped her hands on the napkin he’d thoughtfully added.
“No. Yes. Well—”
“Blake Sebastian, I’m still the agent in charge here. Spill it.”
He handed her the two filled wine glasses before they spilled and snuggled onto the bed beside her, moving the tray between them. Then he chose the fattest chicken wing and held it without taking a bite.
“Can’t we wait until tomorrow before we let reality back in? Trust me, it’s not the end of the world, but the news isn’t good. I promise I’ll explain in the morning. For now, we’re all safe. I have an army of officers positioned around this joint. No one can get past them.”
She stared into his beseeching face and asked, “You promise there’s no immediate danger?”
“None. Tomorrow is soon enough to make some changes. Please, Charli.”
Charli had already heard about the new plans and felt confident that things would work out just fine. “Okay. Tomorrow we’ll move to another state’s safe house, which will make the data he collected null and void.”
Blake turned to the dresser by the bed and reached for his wine, nodding and at the same time speaking words that sounded as if he’d said, “That’s right.”
Charli didn’t like him dodging her gaze while mumbling a nonsensical reply, but she let him get away with it because she’d never enjoyed such a wonderful encounter and she wanted it to last.
Still, her mind did warn… Something’s up.
Chapter Forty-seven
Waking to a man in need, tucked in front of him, cuddled close and totally engaged in delightful morning sex, Charli contributed fully. Warm skin nestled behind, arms strong and persuasive, whispered words urged her on. She allowed him passage and reveled in their combined mounting passion.
When he whispered his thank you in her ear after their mutually enjoyable finish, she’d smiled and thought no one else would ever be so thoughtful. Drifting off again, still feeling heavy after her sharing from the night before, she snoozed and didn’t wake until she felt him leave her side.
“Blake, come back here. We need to talk.” She tackled him before he could disappear. Wanting to hold him to his promise of giving her the complete lowdown of what happened yesterday, why he’d been absent a lot of the time, she stopped his escape to the shower by following him there and joining him.
His engaging grin and soft kisses weakened her enough that she went along with soaping his back and letting him soap hers, but only after he promised to come clean… a pun he thought hilarious… when they were finished.
As they dressed, he explained about his absence the afternoon before. Only the murder of one of his own cops would have tempted him to leave the house.
“I didn’t know where you’d disappeared to, one minute you were there and the next, Gramps said you’d been called away.”
“Detective Newton figured I’d want to be involved, and he was right.” Further explanation of what he’d witnessed shook her foundations.
“Dispatch took a call from the rookie’s girlfriend who’d stopped by his place and found him. The officer, Tom Sheldon, had worked the night shift, and he’d promised to take her out to eat, go shopping, and then he would catch up on his sleep afterward. Except, he hadn’t shown up, nor did he answer his phone.”
Charli listened to every word, but his expression warned there was a shock coming.
“The girlfriend, angry that he’d broken his word and fallen asleep, went over there and let herself in, only to find him shot, lying on the floor in his underwear.”
Charli listened closely. “Where was he hit?”
“Forehead, dead center.”
“Aww… shit!” Her angry reaction reignited the worry she’d put aside for the last few wonderful hours. “It still could have been a coincidence. He might have disturbed a burglar. Was anything missing?”
“Just his uniform.”
“What?” Charli felt the fear building, the instinct that this wasn’t an ordinary act of violence. “So, you don’t believe it to be a typical break-in gone wrong. Was he shot with his own gun?”
“No, with the same gun that killed the bartender and his two customers at Freddie’s.”
“Jesus. It’s him.”
“We believe so.”
“He wanted the uniform so he could get close to this house.”
“We thought of that so we made sure our guys all wore their civilian clothes last night and hung back. We wanted him to stand out. But, since then, we’ve changed our minds as to why he needed the uniform.”
“Why?”
“Bill Newton’s daughter goes to the same school that Kayla goes to, and when he picked his girl up after the final class yesterday, the Vice Principal visited with him, congratulating the police department for hiring such gracious and polite officers like the one who’d been there earlier asking questions about a missing girl. We had no one assigned to any such task.”
“You’re kidding me? So now that bastard knows we’re here for sure and where Kayla was going to school. Thank goodness we kept her home yesterday.”
“Remember, he’s also skilled with computers; enough to use his own to shut down the security system at the house where he shot Agent Dale.”
Charli’s mind raced through the points and arrived at the same conclusion Blake obviously had too. “He hacked into the school’s computer system and accessed their student database.”
“We checked the log files and someone had infiltrated their data. We followed the trail and found out that he’d used a computer at the library. He’d cleared the browsing history but our guys were able to track his path. When we asked for the video surveillance, we were told their camera had been fiddled with yesterday. The one taping that area had only covered the far wall rather than the day’s traffic or individuals who’d been using the equipment close by.”
“He’s too smart to show up on a camera. If he hacked into the school’s files, it was for one thing only.”
“Yes. He now knows this address.” As he buttoned his shirt, Blake started to turn away. “She’s not going back to that school.”
“You’re bloody right. She’s not going there or anywhere else in this city. We need to get her away from here.”
“Yes, but…”
Chapter Forty-eight
“What do you mean, but? We have no choice. I won’t put her in danger. Jesus, Blake, she’s just a kid.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I love her too, Charli. She’s a sweetheart and nothing is going to happen to her, I swear. We’ve made plans.”
“Plans? I’m not sure I’m going to like this.”
“Prowler has talked to my superiors, and they’ve agreed that we need to stop that maniac here and now. As you’ve been told, no one has ever been able to get close to him. Christ, they’ve never had any real leads… until this situation.”
“They want to use her as bait? Is that what you’re telling me? I won’t be a part of that, Blake. Not for her. Besides,
that would bring danger to everyone in this house. The man is resourceful, committed and kills indiscriminately. We not only have Kayla to protect, but Angie and my grandfather.”
“That’s why we’ve come up with a plan to secret you all away from the house without anyone knowing.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“We have jobs to do, Charli. Those kids, and John, need you. They trust you. I’ll have my men, and we’ll stage a set-up to lure him inside, and then we’ll nab the son of a bitch.”
“Is that before or after he puts a slug dead-center in your forehead too?” She stomped out of the room in search of her girls and her gramps, fury riding her hard. Before she stepped into the group around the kitchen island, she took a deep breath, relaxed her shoulders, and drew her curly hair up higher on her head, digging the combs into her scalp on purpose.
As soon as she showed herself, the laughter stopped, the girls circled the old man and the three stood as if awaiting their sentence.
“Really? It’s you three against the big bad ogre now? So, I’m sorry already. I acted like an ass yesterday. My excuse could be massive PMS, except it isn’t.”
Her grin accompanying the comment made all three relax and smile.
“You,” she pointed at Angie, “you scared the crap out of me, little girl, taking such dangerous chances with your safety.” She held up her hand to stop Angie’s retort. “Don’t. I know what you’re going to say, and you’re wrong. Even if my goofy gramps hadn’t been with you, I’d have still felt like my world was ending when I saw you put yourself in front of that maniac. Hell, kiddo, I don’t know how it happened, but the truth is this. You matter to me. Bigtime matter! I meant it when I said we’d be together from now on, so get used to it.”
Charli watched the metamorphosis taking place, hardness dissolving into hope. The girl believed her. Then Charli saw her grandfather slip his hand into Angie’s and squeeze.
Good.
Next, she swung to Kayla and spoke with conviction. “You’ve gone way past being my job. You’re mine now too. You have to know that. Right?” She waited for Kayla’s smiling nod, and she smiled in return, their eyes holding long enough for the message to be sent and received.
Then she attacked the old man wearing the goofy grin. “And you, Popsicle, you will be doing penance for a long time until I forgive you for taking chances with my precious grandfather.”
John moved closer, chuckling and playing along. Since she’d just used his own words back on him, he knew what to expect. “So, kiddo, what’s my punishment?”
“A big hug, and if you throw in a kiss, it’ll be a start.”
***
Blake arrived just as she had called out Angie, and standing in the background, he waited before interrupting the family scene. It struck him forcibly between the eyes. If he wanted Charli, she wouldn’t come to him unencumbered. He’d be taking on a rather large family.
After she had her say and was enclosed by all three in a laughing group hug, he waited to step forward for his share.
Searching his conscience, he looked hard at just how these latest circumstances made him feel. Other than he couldn’t wipe the dumb grin off his mug, or block the glow in his heart; for the first time in his life, he sensed he belonged to a loving family. He swallowed the sob, blinked rapidly and joined in.
Chapter Forty-nine
“Okay everyone. You’re all on board, right?”
Blake had just sat the group down and given them their instructions about escaping from the house without anyone being aware they’d left. “Let’s go over the plan one more time.”
“The pool cleaner’s van will be pulling into the driveway as close to the fence as possible. He’ll be opening one of his back doors. Just in case our perp has eyes on the house, we’ll be sneaking you all out wearing the same cleaning uniforms.”
Kayla spoke up. “What uniforms? They wear shorts, muscle shirts and a cap.”
“Exactly. You’ll be wearing their clothes, so when you go to the van, you’ll be identical. There’ll be three pool guys waiting in the vehicle in the same outfits – our men of course.”
He looked around the room and saw the confusion. “Follow me now. When the first pool guy comes out to work on the pool, he’ll go around to the side of the house to fiddle with the system; he’ll slip into the house and pass on his clothes to Charli. Dressed like him, she’ll take his place. She’ll head for the van, get inside and the second fellow will be waiting to go back out to the pool and start cleaning, dragging the net and so on. After a little while, he’ll need to go to the shed and Kayla will be waiting to take his place. She’ll head out to the van for a bag of supplies, and the next cop will be waiting. Then we’ll do the same with Angie. Once you’ve been replaced, you ladies will hit the road. Charli knows where the safe house is, and my men and I will wait here for our man to show.”
“Hold it. What about Poppa John?” Charli’s eyebrows lifted and a stubborn glare appeared. “You’re not expecting him to stay here for the fireworks, are you?”
John reached over to rub Charli’s arm soothingly. “Charli, I’ve been taking walks every day since I got here. No reason I can’t take my walk and not return, is there? I could meet up with you in the van after you girls are free.”
Charli didn’t hesitate to argue. “You’ve only been here a couple of days, Gramps. It’s not like you’ve been walking for weeks. And, we didn’t know then what we know now. Dylan’s closing in, probably watching the house as we speak. We can’t take any chances.”
“Oh, pooh! What’s he want with an old man. Why I was just out earlier this morning before the rest of you even stirred, and I met this nice old guy walking his dog. I told him I’d meet him after lunch while he took his dog for his afternoon stroll. Couldn’t I tag along with him for a distance and then just stop at the marina coffee shop at the end of the street? You could pick me up there, right?”
Blake looked at Charli to see if this worked for her. He saw her indecision and decided to push it. “Sure you can, John. That’ll get you to safety. If Dylan’s watching, it’ll look like we’re going about our business as usual. We can have someone tagging you if it’ll make Charli more comfortable.”
Charli still appeared indecisive until John nodded and winked. “See, little girl, easy-peasy!”
“Look, gang. All we need is for our perp to believe Kayla and Charli are still holed up here, thinking they’re safe. That’s why I’ve had all my men back off. They’re around but not visible anymore. What time did this old guy say he’d be around, John?”
“He mentioned he takes a nap after lunch, so he said around two. I told him I’d watch for him then.”
“Okay, I’ll have our guys set up the switch at that same time, and we’ll clear you all out before tonight. If he makes a move, I’m betting it’ll be after dark when he thinks the girls are alone and sleeping.”
Chapter Fifty
Precisely at two, the pool cleaner’s van arrived at the back fence and Charli and the girls were waiting to make the costume change with each of the undercover police women that were assigned to the case. Dressed as the normal pool cleaners would, in shorts and t-shirts, caps securely on their heads, they followed the plan.
John stood watch at the front door. As soon as he saw his new friend and his pooch arrive, he strolled out to meet them, and they ambled off together.
First, Charli did the quick change, pulled the cap well down over her hair and strutted out to the waiting van, followed by the other two teens. In no time, they’d made the exchange and were headed to the coffee shop to pick up John.
Kayla spotted him just as they were arriving, and Charli decided to hold back until the other old fellow left before making a move.
“Let’s just wait until he’s alone. I don’t want to call any attention to us in any way.” She pulled over to a parking spot on the side of the road and turned off the motor.
No one thought anything when John began walking their wa
y, his friend at his side. Charli knew when her gramps made friends he could go overboard in his welcome.
Her old Poppa John liked everyone he met until they proved to be unlikable. Only then, did he drop them. When she questioned him about his faith in people, he gave her his this-is-a-lesson look and said, “When I meet a person, it’s with the expectation that they’re good people. When they prove me wrong, my trust disintegrates and I back away. But sometimes, you know, you have to give folks more than one chance to prove their mettle.”
His philosophy in life had always been – nobody’s perfect. If you have low expectations from someone else, that’s what you’ll always receive from them in return.
Only this time, they needed him to lose his new friend and just get into the van. Charli watched as he did just that. He’d turned to the white-haired, white-bearded fellow walker, shook his hand, patted the small dog standing between them and started to walk away.
Except, that’s when his new friend dropped the leash, turned on him, held a gun to his side and roughly frog-marched him the last few feet to the van. The dog began barking, sensing a problem, and got kicked out of the way for his trouble.
John, realizing the crisis, screamed a warning, “Go, Charli, go.” When he began to yell, the dog barked more and only John’s struggling stopped the maniac from taking a shot to stop the yapping.
Charli grabbed her gun from under the seat where she’d stashed it and took aim; only there was no shot without endangering her grandfather, something she had no intention of doing. Once the men had gone past the side of the van where the walls were without windows, she had no chance.
Both the girls were screaming for the monster to let John go and Angie had opened her door, on her way to his rescue. Charli had to haul her back by the hair. “Stop it. Stay in the van.” She didn’t step on the gas, she couldn’t, though everything about duty screamed inside her – you have Kayla… get away.